The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Commelina lukei is a monocotyledonous, herbaceous plant in the dayflower family from East Africa. This blue-flowered herb has been recorded in lowland areas of Kenya, Tanzania (including Zanzibar), and Madagascar, where it is found in a variety of habitats ranging from forests to grasslands to roadsides. Described in 2008, the species was previously confused with Commelina mascarenica and Commelina imberbis. Despite this misinterpretation, a third similar species, Commelina kotschyi, is actually most closely related to C. lukei. The plant's distinctive features include a scrambling habit, capsules with a rounded extension at the apex, appendaged seeds, clasping leaf bases throughout, and solely needle-like hairs along the upper side of the leaf's midrib. The species was named in honour of the botanist W. Q. R.
Commelina lukei is found in tropical East Africa and has been recorded from southeastern Kenya, northeastern and south-central Tanzania, including the island of Zanzibar, and Madagascar. It is found primarily in coastal areas, many of them densely populated, but it also extends inland into the much more rural Taita Hills in Kenya and the western Usambara Mountains in Tanzania. In these inland areas it is sympatric with the closely related species Commelina kotschyi. Due to the relatively wide distribution of Commelina lukei, its global conservation status is considered Least Concern based on IUCN Red List guidelines. However, it is only known from a single collection in Madagascar and its conservation situation there currently cannot be determined.
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 lukei 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.
