Spreading Dayflower, Creeping Dayflower, Climbing Dayflower
Commelina diffusa Burm. f.
Commelinaceae (Spiderwort Family)
▲▼ plants in the "Weed Garden" at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
▲▼ flowers and stems
▲▼ flower detail, showing lack of lower white petal
Dayflowers:
Several species present in Missouri, some are summer
annuals, but some species are perennial here, with creeping
roots and stems rooting at the nodes
Are monocots in the Spiderwort (Commelinaceae)
Family
All have light-green to dark green, alternate,
oval-pointed leaves with parallel veins (is a monocot) in the
Spiderwort (Commelinaceae) Family
All have small, blue flowers that have two
deep blue upper petals (and sometimes one much-smaller white
lower petal); flowers are in little boat-shaped spathes
(sepal-like structures) in the axils of the leaves
Can reproduce by seed and vegetative
means—cut stems can root readily in moist ground
Prefers moist, fertile soil—gardens,
cultivated fields—but also will grow on roadsides, non-crop
areas
Has a sprawling growth habit—long
stems can create a tangled web in gardens, flower beds
Is related to
several houseplant
species—wandering jew, inch plant—and the native perennial
spiderwort
Spreading Dayflower, Creeping Dayflower:
·
An annual weed, probably native to U.S., found in some
crops or native areas
·
Tends to sprawl along the ground, without too many
upright stems
·
This species has only the two upper blue petals, no
lower white petal; both
Asiatic dayflower and
erect
dayflowers have a third, lower, white petal
·
The boat-shaped spathes are also open on both ends, but
shaped more like a half-heart
·
The leaf sheaths have fine hairs along their margins