Code
COMER
Growth form
Broadleaf
Biological cycle
Vivacious
Habitat
Terrestrial
Commelina erecta L.
synonym | Commelina aethiopica C.B.Clarke |
synonym | Commelina bahiensis Hoffmanns. ex Spreng. |
synonym | Commelina bahiensis Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. |
synonym | Commelina bainesii C.B.Clarke |
synonym | Commelina elegans Kunth |
synonym | Commelina elegans var. glabriuscula Seub. |
synonym | Commelina elegans var. hirsuta Standl. |
synonym | Commelina ensifolia F.Muell. |
synonym | Commelina erecta subsp. erecta |
synonym | Commelina erecta var. typica Fernald, nom. inval. |
synonym | Commelina gerrardii C.B.Clarke |
synonym | Commelina guineensis Hua |
synonym | Commelina hirsuta Willd. ex Spreng. |
synonym | Commelina kurzii var. glochidea K.D.Koenig ex C.B.Clarke |
synonym | Commelina martiana Seub. |
synonym | Commelina pohliana Seub. |
synonym | Commelina saxicola Small |
synonym | Commelina sulcata Benth. |
synonym | Commelina sulcata Hoffmanns. ex Spreng. |
synonym | Commelina sulcata Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. |
synonym | Commelina undulata var. densivestita Domin |
synonym | Commelina venusta C.B.Clarke |
synonym | Commelina virginica var. australis C.B.Clarke |
synonym | Commelina virginica var. massonii C.B.Clarke |
synonym | Commelina virginica var. villosa C.B.Clarke |
synonym | Commelina vogelii C.B.Clarke |
Creoles and pidgins; French-based |
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Global description
Commelina erecta is a very branched vivacious plant. The aerial stems root at the nodes, they are thick. First, they spread out and then recover. Underground stems are simple and without flower. Leaves simple alternate along the stem. They are subsessile, with two small round auricles at the top of the ochrea, both sides are glabrous, with some fine white hairs at the base of the margin and at the top of the ochrea, they have parallel veins. The flowers are pale blue to white. They are wrapped in a small triangular leaf piece whose edges are welded at the back and the faces are dotted with white hairs. The fruit has three cells containing a total of 3 seeds.
First leaves
The first leaves are elliptical in shape, 3 cm long and 2 cm wide, subsessile. Wavy margin, rarely pubescent blade, parallel veins. Presence of two small rounded auricles at the top of the ochrea and lined with white hairs.
General habit
Vivacious plant with decumbent port. It develops in patches. It measures 15 to 40 cm in height.
Underground system
The fibrous white roots are fasciculate at the base, also appearing at the nodes in contact with the ground. Presence of simple rhizomatous stems, covered with scales and without underground flowers (which differentiates this species of C. benghalensis).
Stem
The aerial stem is cylindrical, crassulescent and glabrous, 7 mm in diameter. Cylindrical in shape, it is kneeed and branched. The underground, rhizomatous stems are not branched. They are thinner than aerial stems, white and covered with brown scales corresponding to leaf sheaths.
Leaf
The leaves are simple and alternate, oval to lanceolate, light green, more or less fleshy, 3 to 5 cm long and 1 to 3 cm wide. The limb is sessile to subsessile but not pseudopetiolated. The top is acute and the base rounded to attenuated. The summit of the ochrea has two rounded auricles. The base of the margin of the limb and the auricles are provided with white hairs. Ochrea is membranous, cylindrical, surrounding the stem, finely pubescent with some white hairs at the top. Numerous and parallel ribs. Both sides of the limb are glabrous, the margin is more or less wavy.
Inflorescence
The inflorescence is composed of 2 aerial flowers inserted into a triangular leafy spathe of 2.5 to 3.5 cm long and 2 cm high, the back of the spathe is welded. The outer faces of the spathe are covered with short, long, multicellular, white hairs. The flowers bloom outside the spathe one after the other.
Flower
The 2 flowers of the same spathe are borne by the same fibrous pedicel. They are formed of 3 whitish membranous sepals, the two anterior partially welded. The three petals are light blue to almost white. 2 conspicuous lateral petals with large rounded to reniform terminal lobe, 10-15 mm wide with a base narrowed into a linear base; 1 central petal rounded, very reduced, sessile and of whitish color. 3 stamens with long filet and multilobed anthers and 3 sterile staminodes. 3 long-style pistils ending in a butt and with a globular stigma.
Fruit
The fruit is a capsule 4 to 5 mm long, with 3 cells (2 dehiscent ventral cells, 1 indehiscent dorsal box) containing 3 seeds.
Seed
The seeds are 3 in number per capsule. Grayish brown in shape ellipsoidal, a little flattened, 2.4 to 3.5 mm long and 2.3 to 2.8 mm wide. Smooth, finely reticulated, glabrous or puberulent tegument.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
West Indies : Commelina erecta flowers and fructifies almost all around the year.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Commelina erecta is a vivacious species that multiplies by seed. Seeds do not germinate when they are buried more than 2 cm deep. It also multiplies vegetatively from rhizomes and cuttings especially during weeding that promote its vegetative propagation.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Blue flowers | spathe (*) open | Glabrous sheath | Commelina diffusa | |
Pubescent sheath | Commelina diffusa subsp. scandens | |||
spathe (*) fused at the base | Sheath of leaves without oreillette | Red hairs on the sheath, stalked leaf, wavy and more than 20 mm wide | Commelina benghalensis | |
No red hairs on the sheath, sessile leaf, leaf wavy and narrow, less than 20 mm wide | Commelina forskaolii | |||
sheath of leaves elongated by two oreillettes | Leaf very elongated, white hairs on the margin and auricles |
Commelina erecta | ||
Leaf as large as longue, reddish stem | Commelina lagosensis | |||
fYellow to pink flowers | spathe (*) fused at the base | Commelina nigritana | ||
spathe (*) open | Leaves very narrow (4 mm) | Commelina subulata | ||
Leaves lanceolate | Glabrous sheath | Commelina africana var. africana | ||
Pubescente sheath | Commelina africana var. krebsiana |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
West Indies: Commelina erecta develops preferentially in shady places, in a situation less humid than Commelina diffusa. It is a ruderal species and a common weed in crops, from 0 to 200 m altitude.
Brazil: Common species in fallow and cultivated plots throughout the country. It is particularly fond of fertile soils but tolerates poor soils, even in coastal areas. It does not support winter frost.
French Guiana: Ruderal species and weeds of crops in semi shaded environment but on ground unsaturated of water.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Origin
Commelina erecta is native to the tropical regions of Central America and South America.
Worldwide distribution
The species is present in all tropical regions of Central and South America, the West Indies and also in West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
West Indies: Commelina erecta is a scanty weed.
French Guiana: It is a nitrophilous species, quite infrequent in the context of vegetable crops and orchards in Guyana but which can quickly become very abundant. It has the particularity to produce seeds but also to multiply very easily vegetatively from any stem fragment. It is frequent on the canals of the Mana polder. In the cultivated plots of French Guiana, it is by far the most common species of the genus Commelina. It remains infrequent but potentially abundant.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Global control
The weeding of Commelina erecta must imperatively be accompanied by an evacuation of weeded plants from the plot otherwise it starts again very quickly from the swath of weeding and recolonizes very quickly the plot. Seed germination is favored by the tillage which brings them back to the surface or less than 2 cm deep.
Local control
French Guiana: Crushed stem portions of Commelina erecta are susceptible to cuttings and spread. It will have to be removed from the plot after weeding or crushing.
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
- Kissmann, K. G. (1997). Plantas Infestantes e Nocivas. Sao Paulo. Tomo I. BASF ed. 824p.
- Fournet, J. (2002). Flore illustrée des phanérogames de Guadeloupe et de Martinique. Montpellier, France, Cirad, Gondwana éditions.
- Berton, A. (2020). Flore spontanée des cultures maraichères et fruitières de Guyane. Guide de reconnaissance des 140 adventices les plus communes des parcelles cultivées. Cayenne, Guyane, FREDON Guyane: 186.https://portal.wiktrop.org/document/show/173
- Marnotte, P. and A. Carrara. (2007). "Plantes des rizières de Guyane." from http://plantes-rizieres-guyane.cirad.fr/.
- Kissmann, K. G. (1997). Plantas Infestantes e Nocivas. Sao Paulo. Tomo I. BASF ed. 824p.
- Fournet, J. (2002). Flore illustrée des phanérogames de Guadeloupe et de Martinique. Montpellier, France, Cirad, Gondwana éditions.
- Berton, A. (2020). Flore spontanée des cultures maraichères et fruitières de Guyane. Guide de reconnaissance des 140 adventices les plus communes des parcelles cultivées. Cayenne, Guyane, FREDON Guyane: 186.https://portal.wiktrop.org/document/show/173
- Marnotte, P. and A. Carrara. (2007). "Plantes des rizières de Guyane." from http://plantes-rizieres-guyane.cirad.fr/.
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Commelina%2520erecta
Attributions | |
Contributors | |
Status | UNDER_CREATION |
Licenses | CC_BY |
References |
Root | Root |
Kingdom | Plantae |
Phylum | Tracheophyta |
Class | Liliopsida |
Order | Commelinales |
Family | Commelinaceae |
Genus | Commelina |
Species | Commelina erecta L. |