Index- plants in this Family
Commelinaceae / Spiderwort
Dayflower (Commelina erecta)
Dayflower is also known as Slender Dayflower and Whitemouth Dayflower.

Plant Type: This is a herbaceous plant, it is a perennial which can reach 46cm in height (18inches).
Leaves: The leaves are alternate. Each leaf is slender and entire.
Flowers: The flowers have 3 Regular Parts. They are blue. Blooms first appear in late spring and continue into mid fall. There are two light blue petals and a third much smaller petal that is very light in color or transparent. Flowers emerge from a folded bract that is fused near the base and thus remains folded after the flower withers. The flowers wither the day after they open often before midday.
Habitat: Dry open areas.
Range: Most of eastern US except extreme north and south.

      Color Photo     More Info      Classification


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Daniel Reed

The leaves and stems of Dayflower can be eaten as a potherb.

Similar Species: Asiatic Dayflower (C. communis) is an introduced annual that is similar in appearance but is found in moist areas, often along ditches, and is reclining. The bract or spathe at the base of the flower is open - not fused near the base.
Virginia Dayflower or Woods Dayflower (C. virginiana) is much taller. It has three blue petals with one slightly smaller than the others. The leaves are wide. It is found in moist to wet shaded areas. Spiderworts (Tradescantia) are also similar but have three equal size petals.



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More Info:  
The Search below may provide more information about this species. Some of URLs may have been used as a source for this page not otherwise cited. Most of the information not cited comes from multiple sources that can be found in the Books page. The USDA plant links are provided by: USDA, NRCS 1999. The PLANTS database (http://plants.usda.gov/). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA. You can check species names at ITIS Advanced Search to see if they meet the current ITIS taxonomic criteria.
 

By: Newcomb, Lawrence and Illustrated by Morrison, Gordon. 1977, Little, Brown and Company, ISBN:0-316-60442-9

One of the best general guides to wildflowers of the North Eastern and North Central United States. Newcomb's key is an excellent, simple method for identifying plants. Newcomb has drawings for almost every plant mentioned that are excellent aids to identifying the species. Though only the more common plants are covered this is often the first book I pick up when trying to identify a wildflower.


Wildflo wers of Tennessee the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians
By: Dennis Horn and Tavia Cathcart and Thomas E. Hemmerly and David Duhl. , ISBN:1551054280

This is perhaps the best of many field guides covering this region. Featuring 446 excellent color photographs (located with the text) and mentioning as similar to those illustrated are another 800 or so species for a total coverage of over 1,200 species. The start of each family section includes line drawings of some of the species showing important features. The text includes the usual description, bloom season, range, habitat and additionally includes information such as medical uses and lore and how the species was named. This is the official field guide of the Tennessee Native Plant Society.



Classification:  
Kingdom
Plantae
Plants
|Division
Magnoliophyta
Angiosperms / Flowering Plants
|Class
Liliopsida
Monocots / One Seed Leaf
|Subclass
Commelinidae
Spiderwort
||Family
Commelinaceae
Spiderwort
|Subfamily

|Tribe

|Genus
Commelina
Dayflower

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www.2bnTheWild.com - Wildflowers of the Southeastern United States, Page updated on 6/24/2007 5:13:56 PM.