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Commelina erecta

Common name:	Slender Day-Flower	Family:	Commelinaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 200, 274
Synonyms:	Commelina hirtella (Vahl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-eastern N. America - Pennsylvania to Florida and Texas.
Habitat:	Loamy or sandy soils or rocky slopes in woods and openings[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Consuelda [E], Mais Marron [E], Suelda Consuelda [E], White-mouth Dayflower [B], Whitemouth Dayflower [P], Z'Herbe Mais Marron [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	erecta = erect; recta = erect;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Commelinales. Spiderwort family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Bolivia; Dominican Republic; Haiti; Paraguay

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1.2m. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Root.

Root[105, 177]. Fleshy[43].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a light well-drained loam with added leafmold[1, 42]. Succeeds in an ordinary, reasonably moist soil in a sunny position with some shelter[164].
A polymorphic plant[200].
This species is not very winter hardy, the roots are best dug up in autumn and stored like dahlias in a cool frost free place and then planted out in spring[200]. When grown in a light well-drained soil and mulched well, the roots usually survive the winter outdoors[1].

Propagation

Seed - sow March in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 4 - 5 weeks at 20°c[164]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in early spring. Make sure that each portion has at least one growing bud[111, K].
Cuttings during the growing season. Very easy[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Commelinaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[42] Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938
Rather dated now, but an immense work on bulbs for temperate zones and how to grow them. Three large volumes.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Martha Díaz B (martha@ecologia.edu.mx) Thu Jun 28 17:02:26 2001

We reciently recieved this article on the use of various weeds in south america. We though that you might enjoy it.

Abstract

Weeds may constitute an additional food source for humans. Up to 66% of weed species are edible and abound in urban and agricultural environments. A total of 43 species were sampled in tropical areas in Coatepec Mexico (e.g. roadsides, urban vacant lots, streets, sugar cane and coffee plantations). A similar survey performed in a temperate area in Bariloche Argentina with 32 species sampled. At a greater geographic scale, a comparison between Mexican and Argentine weeds shows that, proportionately, the food parts vary a little between regions. In general, the uses go from leaves, seeds, roots, fruits, and flowers.

Link: Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Cross references: Plants: Acalypha wilkesiana, Amaranthus dubius, Amaranthus hybridus, Amaranthus spinosus, Anagallis arvensis, Alstroemeria aurea, Berberis buxifolia, Brassica rapa, Bidens odorata, Cichorius intybus, Cirsium vulgare, Claytonia perfoliata, Cytisus scoparius, Chenopodium album, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, Canna indica, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Commelina diffusa, Drymaria cordata, Drymaria gracilis, Galinsoga quadriradiata, Heliconia caribaea, Hydrocotyle bonariensis, Hydrocotyle mexicana, Ipomoea purpurea, Ipomoea tilliacea, Ipomoea triloba, Hypochoeris radicata, Lactuca serriola, Malus sylvestris, Medicago lupulina, Melilotus albus, Margaranthus sulphureus, Oenothera odorata, Osmorhiza chilensis, Oxalis corniculata, Oxalis latifolia, Phaseolus vulgaris, Piper auritum, Plantago hirtella, Plantago lanceolata, Portulaca oleracea, Papaver rhoeas, Rumex acetosella, Rumex longifolius, Rumex obtusifolius, Sida acuta, Sida glabra, Sida rhombifolia, Sida spinosa, Solanum nigrum, Sonchus oleraceus, Spilanthes americana, Sanguisorba minor, Silybum marianum, Sonchus asper, Sonchus oleraceus, Stellaria media, Taraxacum officinale, Tragopogon dubius, Tradescantia fluminensis, Tagetes micrantha, Trifolium repens, Tripogandra serrulata, Xanthosoma robustum, Youngia japonica. Genera: Mentha.

Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Klaus (allmendeperma@web.de) Thu Aug 16 16:12:55 2001

I really wonder what this has to do with montia perfoliata. The edible uses of weeds might be interesting, but not as a comment to this plant.

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