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Commelina grossa

Commelina grossa is a perennial herb in the dayflower family, native to woodlands in Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia. It grows from mainly basal, long linear leaves and is grown mostly by enthusiasts and botanic gardens rather than commonly sold.

Family
Commelinaceae (Spiderwort family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Water moderately during the growing season and keep the soil slightly moist, letting the top dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Free-draining sandy or loamy mix that holds some moisture.
Temperature
18–28 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
W. & S. Tanzania to Zambia
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Commelina grossa is an herbaceous plant in the dayflower family found in the East and Southern African countries of Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia. The species is easily recognised by its mainly basal leaves which are long and linear, and its spathes, which lack hairs and are quite large. The petals are mauve-blue with the lower petal being highly reduced and the sepals fused into a cup. These features suggest it may be related to Commelina schweinfurthii and its allies, which share many of the same floral characters. The species' typical habitat is in woodland on sandy soil or soils that become seasonally waterlogged. Flowering occurs in April and June.

Other Commelina plants

Commelina acutispatha · African Yellow Dayflower · Jio · Carolina dayflower · Ciliate Dayflower · Asiatic dayflower · Creeping Christian · Birdbill dayflower · Climbing dayflower · Annual Blue Dayflower · Commelina ensifolia · Whitemouth dayflower

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Commelina grossa 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.

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