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Commelina benghalensis
Also called Day Flower, Wandering jew, Benghal dayflower, Tropical spiderwort, Indian Dayflower, Hairy Wandering Jew, Benghal Commelina, Wandering Jew
Jio is a sprawling, weedy herb in the spiderwort family that roots at its nodes and forms dense mats in disturbed soil. It is grown mainly as a wild or semi-wild plant rather than a garden ornamental, and it spreads readily, so keep it contained.
Commelina benghalensis, commonly known as the Benghal dayflower, tropical spiderwort, or wandering Jew, kanshira in Bengali, is a perennial herb native to tropical Asia and Africa. It has been widely introduced to areas outside its native range, including to the neotropics, Hawaii, the West Indies and to both coasts of North America. It has a long flowering period, from spring to fall in subtropical areas, and throughout the year closer to the equator. It is often associated with disturbed soils.
In both its native range and areas where it has been introduced it is usually considered a weed, sometimes a serious one. In the United States it has been placed on the Federal Noxious Weed List. It is considered a moderate weed of rice cultivation in Asia.
Commelina benghalensis is a wide-ranging plant, being native to tropical and subtropical Asia and Africa, an area otherwise known as the paleotropics. In China it is commonly associated with wet locations. There it can be found from near sea level up to 2300 metres. It is present from the provinces of Hebei and Shandong in the northeast, west to Sichuan and in all provinces south to Hainan, the southernmost province. It is also found in Taiwan. In Japan the plant is restricted to the southern portions of the country from the southern Kantō region westward and including the islands of Shikoku and Kyūshū. Although its roots and tubers are used as a food source, C. benghalensis is not cultivated in Ethiopia, where it grows as a weed.
In China, the plant is used medicinally as a diuretic, febrifuge and anti-inflammatory. In Pakistan it is used as animal fodder and also eaten by humans as a vegetable. It is also used there medicinally, but with different purported effects, including as a laxative and to cure inflammations of the skin as well as leprosy. The people of Nepal eat the young leaves as a vegetable, use a paste derived from the plant to treat burns, and treat indigestion with a juice produced from the roots. Its use as a famine food in India has been recorded. In southeast Asia and Africa it is used as fodder and also medicinally as a poultice.
African Yellow Dayflower · Asiatic dayflower · Commelina ensifolia · Whitemouth dayflower · Riverine Dayflower · Malagasy Dayflower · Commelina
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Commelina benghalensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
