Commelina cyanea

Short description: Species of flowering plant

Commelina cyanea

Stem and flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Plantae
Clade:  | Tracheophytes
Clade:  | Angiosperms
Clade:  | Monocots
Clade:  | Commelinids
Order:  | Commelinales
Family:  | Commelinaceae
Genus:  | Commelina
Species:  |

C. cyanea

Binomial name
Commelina cyanea

R.Br.[1][2]

Synonyms[2]

* Commelina communis F.Muell.
* Commelina cyanea f. albiflora Domin
* Commelina cyanea var. verreauxii C.B.Clarke

Commelina cyanea, commonly known as scurvy weed, is a perennial prostrate herb of the family Commelinaceae native to moist forests and woodlands of eastern Australia,[3] Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. The blue flowers appear over the warmer months and are pollinated by bees and flies.

## Contents

* 1 Taxonomy
* 1.1 Etymology
* 2 Description
* 3 Distribution and habitat
* 4 Ecology
* 5 Uses
* 6 Gallery
* 7 References
* 8 External links

## Taxonomy

Commelina cyanea was one of the many species initially described by the botanist Robert Brown in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen and still bears its original name.[4][1]

### Etymology

The genus name Commelina was chosen based on the Asiatic dayflower. Linnaeus picked the name in honour of the Dutch botanists Jan and Caspar Commelijn, using the two large showy petals of Commelina communis to symbolise them.[5] The specific name is the Latin adjective cyaneus, meaning "blue". As well as scurvy weed, alternative common names include (native) wandering Jew, forget-me-not,[1] and creeping Christian.[6]

## Description

Commelina cyanea is a trailing herbaceous perennial plant, whose stems grow along the ground. It readily roots at the nodes when they come into contact with the soil. They die off in winter.[7] The leaves are ovate to narrow-ovate, and measure 2–7 cm (0.8–2.8 in) long by 5–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) wide. The flowers can occur at any time from spring to autumn. They are deep blue and about 15 mm (0.6 in) in diameter, followed by a capsule bearing up to five seeds about 3 mm (0.1 in) long.[3][7]

## Distribution and habitat

The species range is across eastern New South Wales, from Narooma northwards into Queensland, as well as Lord Howe Island. It grows in wetter shaded areas in forest habitats.[3][8]

## Ecology

Commelina cyanea is pollinated by a variety of native bees such as Nomia aurantifer, Amegilla pulchra, halictid and colletid bees, and syrphid flies (genus Syritta).[9] Wallabies and rabbits eat the vegetation.[7] Vegetation is also possibly dispersed by water.[7]

## Uses

The leaves were used by early non-indigenous colonists to alleviate scurvy, and hence its common name.[10]

Attractive in flower, Commelina cyanea adapts readily to cultivation and can be grown as a groundcover or in hanging baskets. It is easily propagated from cuttings.[11] It has a superficial resemblance (in morphology only) to the introduced weed wandering Jew (Tradescantia fluminensis), but is readily distinguished from the native by the variegated leaves and the white flowers. It also lacks the hairy leaf sheathes of the native.[12] C. cyanea can itself be weedy in gardens at times.[13]

## Gallery

* Habit

Habit

* Foliage

Foliage

* Flowers

Flowers

* Stem

* Closeup of leaf sheath

* Stem, leaves and cyme

Stem, leaves and cyme

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Commelina cyanea". Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/name/apni/74768.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Commelina cyanea R.Br.". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:172000-1.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wilson, Peter G. (1993). "PlantNET - FloraOnline". Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Commelina~cyanea.
4. ↑ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus floræ Novæ Hollandiæ et Insulæ Van-Diemen : exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805. London: R. Taylor and Partners. p. 269. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36315546. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
5. ↑ Faden, Robert (2006), "Commelina diffusa", Flora of North America online, 22, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=222000040, retrieved 2007-06-21
6. ↑ "Commelina cyanea". https://www.friendsoflanecovenp.org/flowers/commelina-cyanea.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Commelina cyanea". Ecology of Cumberland Plain Woodland. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/science/Evolutionary_Ecology_Research/Ecology_of_Cumberland_Plain_Woodland/woodland_plants/commelina_cyanea.
8. ↑ Rodd, A.N.; Pickard, John (1983). "Census of Vascular Flora of Lord Howe Island". Cunninghamia 1 (2): 267–280. http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/97613/Rodd.pdf. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
9. ↑ Williams, Geoff; Adam, Paul (2010). The Flowering of Australia's Rainforests: A Plant and Pollination Miscellany. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO publishing. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-643-09761-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=jh6v3D22n6cC&q=Commelina+cyanea+pollinators&pg=PA136.
10. ↑ "Commelina cyanea". https://anpsa.org.au/plant_profiles/commelina-cyanea/.
11. ↑ Elliot, R.W.; Jones, D.L.; Blake, T. (1984). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation: Volume 3 - Ce-Er. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-85091-167-2.
12. ↑ "Trad - Tradescantia albiflora, T. zebrina, T. spathecea". 13 January 2011. https://sydneyweeds.org.au/weeds/wandering-jew-trad/.
13. ↑ Fairley, A.; Moore, P. (2000). Native Plants of the Sydney District: An Identification Guide (2nd ed.). Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 325. ISBN 0-7318-1031-7.

## External links

| Wikispecies has information related to Commelina cyanea

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* View a map of recorded sightings of this species at the Australasian Virtual Herbarium
* View observations of this species on iNaturalist
* See images of this species on Flickriver.com

Wikidata ☰ Q5152270 entry

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