Code
COMAK
Growth form
Broadleaf
Biological cycle
Annual
Habitat
Terrestrial
COMAK
Growth form
Broadleaf
Biological cycle
Annual
Habitat
Terrestrial
🗒 Synonyms
| synonym | Commelina africana var. boehmiana (K.Schum.) Brenan |
| synonym | Commelina africana var. brevipila Brenan |
| synonym | Commelina africana var. milleri Brenan |
| synonym | Commelina africana var. villosior (C.B.Clarke) Brenan |
| synonym | Commelina angolensis C.B.Clarke |
| synonym | Commelina barbata var. villosior C.B.Clarke |
| synonym | Commelina boehmiana K.Schum. |
| synonym | Commelina cordifolia A.Rich. |
| synonym | Commelina krebsiana Kunth |
| synonym | Commelina lyallii (C.B.Clarke) H.Perrier |
| synonym | Commelina mannii var. lyallii C.B.Clarke |
🗒 Common Names
| Comorian |
|
| Creoles and pidgins; French-based |
|
| Other |
|
📚 Overview
Description
Global description
Commelina africana var. krebsiana is a plant more or less erect to trailing. The stems are fragile and usually lying. They are rooted at the nodes. The leaves are inserted directly on the sheath surrounding the stem without pseudo-petiole. They are almost fleshy, bright green in colour. The ribs are slightly visible. The leaf blade measures up to 7 cm long, it is densely pubescent. The flowers are yellow. They are grouped in a triangular and elongate leafy part whose edges are free unlike C. benghalensis. It is equipped with long hairs especially on margin and the midrib. The fruit has three loculus two of which open at maturity. However, the seeds remain enclosed in the envelope.
First leaves
The first leaves are elliptical, 2 to 3 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide. Margin is non-wavy. Leaf blade sessile, pubescent. Parallel venation.
General habit
Vivacious plant, erect, ascending or spreading, densely pubescent. The plant develops in spot.
Underground system
The white roots are fibrous, fasciculate at the base of the plant. The roots also appear at the nodes.
Stem
The cylindrical stem is branched and geniculate, pubescent, with a crassulescent aspect. It is rooted at the lower nodes.
Leaf
The leaves are simple and alternate, ovate to lance-shaped, light green in colour. 1.5 to 7 cm long (maximum) and 0.7 to 2.5 cm wide. Sessile leaf blade, connected to a membranous sheath, cylindrical, surrounding the stem and densely pubescent. Numerous parallel ribs. Summit gradually acuminate or acute. Rounded base. Both sides are densely pubescent with long multicellular white hairs.
Inflorescence
The inflorescence is composed of 2 to 4 stalked flowers (1-3 cm) emerging from a folded heart-shaped spathe, rounded at the base, long attenuated at the top, the edges are free at base, 1.5 to 3 cm long. Spathe shortly stalked. Faces of spathe is pubescent, especially the margin and the midrib.
Flower
Flowers on a pedicel of 3 to 5 mm. Perianth consists of 2 whorls; 5 sepals with 3 free, green in colour, and 2 connected to the base; 3 free petals, yellow in colour. Lateral petals rounded at the top and filiform at the base; lower petal smaller. 5 to 6 glabrous stamens with 3 fertile and 2 (or 3) sterile.
Fruit
The fruit is a capsule with three loculus, 4 to 5 mm long. Dorsal loculus indehiscent with 1 seed; ventral loculus dehiscent containing 2 seeds, one or both aborted.
Seed
There are 5 seeds per capsule. Brownish in colour, smooth to reticulate, 2 to 3 mm long, kidney-shaped or oblong.
Commelina africana var. krebsiana is a plant more or less erect to trailing. The stems are fragile and usually lying. They are rooted at the nodes. The leaves are inserted directly on the sheath surrounding the stem without pseudo-petiole. They are almost fleshy, bright green in colour. The ribs are slightly visible. The leaf blade measures up to 7 cm long, it is densely pubescent. The flowers are yellow. They are grouped in a triangular and elongate leafy part whose edges are free unlike C. benghalensis. It is equipped with long hairs especially on margin and the midrib. The fruit has three loculus two of which open at maturity. However, the seeds remain enclosed in the envelope.
First leaves
The first leaves are elliptical, 2 to 3 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide. Margin is non-wavy. Leaf blade sessile, pubescent. Parallel venation.
General habit
Vivacious plant, erect, ascending or spreading, densely pubescent. The plant develops in spot.
Underground system
The white roots are fibrous, fasciculate at the base of the plant. The roots also appear at the nodes.
Stem
The cylindrical stem is branched and geniculate, pubescent, with a crassulescent aspect. It is rooted at the lower nodes.
Leaf
The leaves are simple and alternate, ovate to lance-shaped, light green in colour. 1.5 to 7 cm long (maximum) and 0.7 to 2.5 cm wide. Sessile leaf blade, connected to a membranous sheath, cylindrical, surrounding the stem and densely pubescent. Numerous parallel ribs. Summit gradually acuminate or acute. Rounded base. Both sides are densely pubescent with long multicellular white hairs.
Inflorescence
The inflorescence is composed of 2 to 4 stalked flowers (1-3 cm) emerging from a folded heart-shaped spathe, rounded at the base, long attenuated at the top, the edges are free at base, 1.5 to 3 cm long. Spathe shortly stalked. Faces of spathe is pubescent, especially the margin and the midrib.
Flower
Flowers on a pedicel of 3 to 5 mm. Perianth consists of 2 whorls; 5 sepals with 3 free, green in colour, and 2 connected to the base; 3 free petals, yellow in colour. Lateral petals rounded at the top and filiform at the base; lower petal smaller. 5 to 6 glabrous stamens with 3 fertile and 2 (or 3) sterile.
Fruit
The fruit is a capsule with three loculus, 4 to 5 mm long. Dorsal loculus indehiscent with 1 seed; ventral loculus dehiscent containing 2 seeds, one or both aborted.
Seed
There are 5 seeds per capsule. Brownish in colour, smooth to reticulate, 2 to 3 mm long, kidney-shaped or oblong.
Wiktrop
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| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
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No Data
📚 Nomenclature and Classification
No Data
📚 Natural History
Life Cycle
Life cycle
Annual
Vivacious
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Madagascar: C. africana var. krebsiana can flower as from the middle of the rainy season and during dry season.
Mayotte: C. africana flowers and fruits all year round.
Wiktrop
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| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
Cyclicity
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C. africana var. krebsiana is a vivacious species that multiply vegetatively by cuttings of cut stems during soil preparation or cultivation work but also produces seeds.
Wiktrop
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| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
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Morphology
Growth form
Erected
Prostrated
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Type of prefoliation
Leaf ratio medium
Narrow leaf
Latex
Without latex
Stem section
Round
Root type
Rhizome
Fibrous roots
Hollow or solid stem
Solid stem
Stipule type
No stipule
Leaf attachment type
with united sheathing lobes
Fruit type
Capsule splitting vertically in 3 carpels
Lamina base
rounded
sheathing grass-like smaller
Lamina margin
ciliate
entire
Lamina apex
attenuate
acute
Upperface pilosity
Dense hairy
Upperface hair type
Short and long mixed hairs
Long
Lowerface pilosity
Dense hairy
Lowerface hair type
Long
Simple leaf type
Lamina elliptic
Lamina section
flat
Lamina Veination
Parallel
Flower color
Yellow
Inflorescence type
Bracteate inflorescence
Stem pilosity
Dense hairy
Stem hair type
Hispidus
Short and long hairs mixed
Life form
Broadleaf plant
Look Alikes
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
C. africana var. krebsiana differs from the other 4 varieties of C. Africana by its leaves which are of maximum length 7 cm, densely pubescent, while var. bohemiana has hairy leaves but larger in size (7-13 cm), var. africana has hairless leaves, less than 7 cm with base in corner, var. manii has hairless leaves, less than 7 cm with cordate base; and var. lancispatha has glabrous leaves of 7 to 13 cm.
| 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 | |||
wikwio user
| Attributions | wikwio user |
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| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
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Ecology
Comoros: Species is observed in sunny areas at low and medium altitude on sandy clayey soil. It is uncommon in the vanilla, cassava and banana plots.
Madagascar: The species grows on ferallitic soils, low to medium fertility, in sunny or lightly shaded areas. It is found along the roads and around inhabited places, in the fallow and degraded pastures. It is a weed of rainfed crops in humid and sub-humid areas, especially in cassava cultivation systems, pluvial rice and fruit and vegetable cultivations, more or less extensive of highland.
Mayotte: C. africana is a native species very common in a wide range of secondarized environments, crops, wastelands, villages, roadsides, ditches from the sandy or rocky coastline to bare mid-altitude ridges.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
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| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
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No Data
📚 Habitat and Distribution
General Habitat
Habitat
Terrestrial
Description
Geographical distibution
Madagascar
Worldwide distribution
Species present in tropical Africa, Southern Africa and Madagascar.
Species present in tropical Africa, Southern Africa and Madagascar.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
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| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
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No Data
📚 Occurrence
No Data
📚 Demography and Conservation
Risk Statement
Local harmfulness
Comoros: A weed infrequent and sparse in crops.
Madagascar: Commelina africana var. krebsiana is a weed infrequent but can be locally abundant. It is resistant to drying after weeding
Mayotte: C. africana is a weed present in 7% of cultivated plots, especially in pineapple plots or forage crops, in the southern region of the island.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
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No Data
📚 Uses and Management
Management
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Local control
Comoros: Manual weeding
Madagascar: It is controlled by manual weeding.
Wiktrop
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| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
No Data
📚 Information Listing
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
References
- PERRIER DE LA BATHIE H., 1938. –Flore de Madagascar 37è Famille COMMELINACEES M.N .H.N. page 10-13.
- Huat, J., Nagy, M., Carpente, A., Schwartz, M., Le Bourgeois, T. & Marnotte, P. 2021. Guide de la flore spontannée des agrosystèmes de Mayotte. Montpellier, Cirad. 150 p.
- Barthelat, F. 2019. La Flore illustrée de Mayotte. Meze, Paris, France, Collection Inventaires et Biodiversité, Biotope – Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle. 487 p.
Information Listing > References
- PERRIER DE LA BATHIE H., 1938. –Flore de Madagascar 37è Famille COMMELINACEES M.N .H.N. page 10-13.
- Huat, J., Nagy, M., Carpente, A., Schwartz, M., Le Bourgeois, T. & Marnotte, P. 2021. Guide de la flore spontannée des agrosystèmes de Mayotte. Montpellier, Cirad. 150 p.
- Barthelat, F. 2019. La Flore illustrée de Mayotte. Meze, Paris, France, Collection Inventaires et Biodiversité, Biotope – Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle. 487 p.
Images
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=commelina%2520africana%2520var.%2520krebsiana
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
No Data
🐾 Taxonomy
| Root | Root |
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Liliopsida |
| Order | Commelinales |
| Family | Commelinaceae |
| Genus | Commelina |
| Species | Commelina africana var. krebsiana (Kunth) C.B.Clarke. |
📊 Temporal Distribution
📷 Related Observations
