Commelina forskaolii [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 forskaolii [family COMMELINACEAE]
Information
Spreading annual herb or chamaephyte with long, trailing stems rooting at nodes and forming short erect branches and often sub­terranean stolons bearing reduced cleisto­gamous flowers. Leaves folded, linear to ob­long, 20-70 mm long, margins wavy, pale greyish green, glabrous or puberulous. Spathes 1-2, terminal and leaf-opposed, shortly pedunculate, obliquely funnel-shaped with a short, acute apex, c. 10 mm long. Both cymes developed. Petals blue. Lateral stamens with filaments more or less winged. Capsule sub-obovoid; dorsal locule indehiscent, striate-muricate, 1-seeded; 2 ventral locules 2-ovulate but usually forming only 1 seed; testa smooth.
Habitat
Maheshwari & Baldev in Phytomorphology 8: 284-285 (1958) observed an inverse relationship in the devel­opment of aerial and subterranean branches. Under drought conditions the plants developed poorly above ground but the underground branches showed luxuriant growth and seed development. The opposite occurred in well-watered plants. This suggests "an adaptation to survi­val under unfavourable conditions". The seed from the underground flowers proved to be more fertile than that of the aerial flowers, which may be self-pollinated. The authors neither mention nor depict the warty surface of the indeshiscent dorsal locule, which was observed in material from Africa as well as the Arabian Peninsula.
Use
7. Commelina forskaolii Vahl, Enum. PI. 2: 172 (1806); C. B. CI. in A. DC, Monogr. Phan. 3: 168 (1881), and in F.T.A. 8: 44 (1901); Morton in J. Linn. Soc, Bot. 55: 522, f. 19 (1956), I.e. 60: 185 (1967); Maheshwari & Baldev in Phytomorphology 8: 277 (1958); Brenan in F.W.T.A. edn 2, 3: 48 (1968); Schreiber et al. in F.S.W.A. 157: 8 (1969). Type: Arabia, Forsskal (C, holo.).
Range
Widespread in Africa, Arabia, Socotra, Madagascar and India; recorded from the northern parts of Southern Africa in sandy, dry bush veld vegetation. Map 27.
Commelina forskaolii [family COMMELINACEAE]
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