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Commelina diffusa
Also called Birdbill Dayflower, Creeping Day Flower, Spreading Dayflower, Creeping Spiderwort, Water Grass, French Weed, Day Flower
Commelina diffusa, sometimes known as the climbing dayflower or spreading dayflower, is an herbaceous plant in the dayflower family. Its native distribution is Paleotropical, including tropical and southern Africa, Yemen, the Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, southern China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands. It has been introduced throughout the tropical and subtropical Americas, where it is now found from the eastern and midwestern United States to northern Argentina. It has been introduced to the southeastern United States where it is most common in wet disturbed soils. There are two recognised varieties, one being the type and the other being C. diffusa var. gigas, which is native to Asia and has been introduced to Florida. It flowers from spring to fall and is most common in disturbed situations, moist places and forests.
C. diffusa is present in tropical and subtropical locations worldwide. It can be found throughout much of southern temperate and subtropical China, specifically in the provinces of Guangdong, southwestern Guangxi, southwestern Guizhou, Hainan, southeastern Tibet and southeastern Yunnan. Within China, it can be found at sea level up to 2,100 metres (6,889 feet), typically being associated with forests, thickets, stream banks and open, humid habitats.
Within China, Commelina diffusa is used as a medicinal herb with febrifugal and diuretic effects. A dye is also obtained from the juice of the petals for use in painting.
Commelina acutispatha · African Yellow Dayflower · Jio · Carolina dayflower · Ciliate Dayflower · Asiatic dayflower · Creeping Christian · Birdbill dayflower · Annual Blue Dayflower · Commelina ensifolia · Whitemouth dayflower · Commelina
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Commelina diffusa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
