Commelina imberbisC.B.Clarke [family COMMELINACEAE ] Verified by Faden,R.B., Commelina petersii(C.B.Clarke) Faden [family COMMELINACEAE ] (stored under name);
Related name
Commelina kotschyi
Commelina petersii
Commelina latifolia
Commelina imberbis
Flora
Entry for Commelina imberbis [family COMMELINACEAE]
Herbarium
South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbarium, Cape Town (SAM)
Collection
Flora of Southern Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of South Africa, (2003) Author: Dr J.P. Roux
Names
Commelina imberbis [family COMMELINACEAE]
Information
Weedy annuals with long, straggling stems rooting at the nodes, usually glabrous. Leaves broadly linear-acuminate, cordate and amplexicaul at the base, 50-90 x 10-15 mm, pale green, margins often crenulate, minutely and sparsely setaceous with the setae ap-pressed to the leaf-surface. Spathes peduncuÂlate, short and broad, free or fused basally, acute, c. 20 x 10 mm. Upper cyme 0 or repreÂsented by a peduncle. Flowers with blue petÂals. Capsule quadrate with the dorsal locule aborted or rarely 1-seeded; seeds cylindric-ellipsoid, 3 mm long, smooth, farinose with a short thick hilum, slightly marbled.
Habitat
The relationship between this species and C. kotschyi Hassk., described at the same time, needs further investiÂgation.
Use
8. Commelina imberbis Hassk. in Schweinf., Beitr. Fl. Aethiop. 209, 295 (1867); C. B. CI. in F.T.A. 8: 49 (1901); Bre-nan in F.W.T.A. edn 2, 3: 48 (1968). Type: Ethiopia, Togodele, Ehrenberg (Bf).
Range
South West Africa/Namibia, Transvaal and SwaziÂland; widespread in tropical Africa, from Ethiopia and tropical West Africa; also recorded from the Arabian Peninsula. Weed-like in behaviour. Said to be weed-killer resistant. Map 27.
