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• Dichotomous Key
• Commelinaceae
• Commelina
• Commelina diffusa

Commelina diffusa — climbing dayflower

Facts

Climbing dayflower is a spreading annual that roots at the nodes. It has a pantropical distribution, and is found mainly in states from North Carolina south, and west to Texas. In spite of this southern distribution, it has been collected in Vermont in disturbed areas.

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, meadows and fields

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Axillary bulblets

  there are no bulblets being produced in axils

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Anther color

  • the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint
  • there is a noticeable pink, reddish or purplish tint to the anthers

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused (the number of carpels equals the number of locules)

  Filament surface

  the filament surface has no hairs or scales on it

  Flower bract length

  10–40 mm

  Flower bracts

  there are bracts associated with the flower

  Flower number

  1–5

  Flower orientation

  the flowers point upward or spread or curve outward

  Flower petal color

  blue to purple

  Flower petal length

  4.2–6 mm

  Flower shape

  NA

  Flower symmetry

  there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)

  Form of style

  • the style is lobed at the tip, and unbranched
  • the style is narrow at the tip and unbranched

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Hairs on flower stalk

  the flower stalk has no hairs on it

  Inflorescence type

  the inflorescence is a dichasial cyme (an axis with a terminal flower, below it a pair of branches, each with a terminal flower, these branches may in turn have a pair of branches and so on)

  Length of flower stalk

  Up to 5 mm

  Length of peduncle

  5–29 mm

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  3

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of sepals and/or petals

  there are three petals, sepals or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal base

  • the petal narrows abruptly at the base
  • the petal narrows gradually or does not narrow at the base

  Petal fusion

  • the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape
  • the perianth parts are separate

  Petal hairs on inner/upper surface

  there are no hairs on the inner/upper petal surface

  Petal nectaries

  the petals do not have nectaries

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture

  Sepal length

  3–4 mm

  Sepal orientation

  the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the plant

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  • the sepals are fused to each other (often along with the petals in monocots), at least near their bases
  • the sepals are separate from one another

  Spathe

  the plant has a spathe surrounding the flower spike

  Spathe form

  • NA
  • the spathe just wraps around the base of the spike of flowers

  Spathe length

  5–37 mm

  Stamen number

  6

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamen types

  the stamens within a cycle are distinctly of two types

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not fused to one another

  Stamens fused outwards

  the stamens are fused to the petals or tepals at or near their bases

  Style petal-like

  the style is not broad and flattened like a petal

  Tepals

  the petals and sepals are different in size and color

• Fruits or seeds

  Berry color

  NA

  Capsule ridges

  there are two ribs or wings on the capsule

  Fruit compartments

  there are three locules in the fruit

  Fruit cross-section

  the fruit is roughly triangular in cross-section

  Fruit length

  4–6.3 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)

  Fruit width

  2.1–4 mm

  Other markings on berry

  NA

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

• Growth form

  Lifespan

  • the plant lives more than two years
  • the plant lives only a single year or less

  Root septa

  the roots do not have transverse septa

  Underground organs

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  • the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  • the upper side of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy
  • the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade basal lobes

  the leaf blades do not have basal lobes

  Leaf blade base

  • the leaf blade clasps the stem at the base, or the leaf blade goes all the way around the stem, so that the stem appears to pierce the leaf blade
  • the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)
  • the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade base shape

  • the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
  • the base of the leaf blade is rounded

  Leaf blade bloom

  the underside of the leaf blade has no noticeable waxy or powdery bloom

  Leaf blade cross-section

  the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section

  Leaf blade faces

  both surfaces of the leaf blade are exposed

  Leaf blade form

  Fully-formed (i.e., expanded), +/- green leaf blades are found somewhere on the plant

  Leaf blade length

  15–80 mm

  Leaf blade orientation

  the upper surface of the leaf blade faces the stem of the plant

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acuminate (tapers to a long, thin point)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)

  Leaf blade veins

  the lateral veins are parallel or slightly arched in the direction of the tip

  Leaf blade width

  5–22 mm

  Leaf stalk length

  At least 0 mm

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

  Leaflet number

  0

  Stipule twining

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on this plant

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • edges of forests
  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the leaves have no particular smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Flowering stem growth form

  the flowering stem trails along the ground or on other vegetation, or floats in the water

  Flowering stem interior

  the flowering stem is solid

  Flowering stem leaves

  there is at least one fully-formed leaf on the flowering stem

  Stem hairs

  • the stem has hairs on it
  • the stem is nearly or completely hairless

Wetland status

Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACW)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae