logo Calflora, a 501c3 non-profit
Taxon  Report  
Commelina benghalensis  L.
Dayflower,   Jio
Commelina benghalensis is an annual or perennial herb that is not native to California.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Commelina
Family: Commelinaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Monocot
Jepson eFlora section: monocot

Wetlands: Occurs usually in non wetlands, occasionally in wetlands
Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS

Alternate Names:
POWOCommelina africana ssp. africana
Information about  Commelina benghalensis from other sources

[Wikipedia] Reproduction: Bengal dayflowers display an enormous diversity in reproductive systems. It produces three types of flowers -male (chasmogamous), hermaphrodite chasmogamous and hermaphrodite cleistogamous. All three types develop on aerial branches, but only hermaphrodite chasmogamous flowers develop on subaerial branches, and only cleistogamous flowers develop on underground branches. Finally, some plants may produce female flowers on aerial branches. Developing flowers are covered in mucilaginous spathes.[7] Flowers are zygomorphic. The petals are blue. The androecium (male organ) has six stamens, of which only three are fertile. One of the fertile stamens is longer and yellow; the other two are shorter and grey in colour. Pollen grains are yellowish coloured and capsule shaped. Pollen grains of Commelina benghalensis The gynoecium (female organ) has three joined carpels. Aerial and subaerial branch flowers have five ovules per ovary; underground branch flowers have three. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 12/11/2024).