Commelina benghalensis

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Commelina benghalensis

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Commelinales
Family: Commelinaceae
Subfamily: Commelinoideae
Tribe: Commelineae
Genus: Commelina
Species: C. benghalensis
Binomial name
Commelina benghalensis
L.

Commelina benghalensis, commonly known as the Benghal dayflower or tropical spiderwort, is a perennial herb native to tropical Asia and Africa. It has been widely introduced to areas outside its native range, including to the neotropics, Hawaii, the West Indies and to both coasts of North America. It flowers from spring into the fall and is often associated with disturbed soils. In the United States it has been placed on the Federal Noxious Weed List. In China it as used as a medicinal herb that is said to have diuretic, febrifugal and anti-inflammatory effects, while in Pakistan it used to cure swellings of the skin, leprosy and as laxative.

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[edit] Distribution and habitat

Commelina benghalensis is a very wide ranging plant, being native to tropical and subtropical Asia and Africa, an area otherwise known as the paleotropics. In China it is commonly associated with wet locations. There it can be found from near sea level up to 2300 metres. It is present from the provinces of Hebei and Shandong in the northeast, west to Sichuan and in all provinces south to Hainan, the southernmost province. It is also found in Taiwan.[1]

The plant has also been widely introduced beyond its range to the neotropics,[2] the southeastern United States, California, Hawaii, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Montserrat, Barbados and St Vincent. In Puerto Rico the plant is known from a single collection from Cayey.[3] In the southeastern United States the plant was collected in the 1928, while it was first collected in Hawaii in 1909.[4] In the southeastern states it is present in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana[2] and North Carolina and spreading.[5] It was added to the Federal Noxious Weed List in 1983,[4] and by 2003 was considered the most serious pest of Georgia's cotton crop due to widely used herbicides such as glyphosate having little effect on it.[5] It was introduced separately to California in the 1980's, making it the only introduced species of Commelina in the western United States.[2][4] It is associated with disturbed soils such as yards, lawns and cultivated areas, especially in cotton crops and orange groves.[4][5]

[edit] Uses

In China, the plant is used medicinally as a diuretic, febrifuge and anti-inflammatory.[1] In Pakistan it is used as an animal fodder and also eaten by humans as a vegetable. It is also used there medicinally, but with different purported effects, including as a laxative and to cure inflammations of the skin as well as leprosy.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Hong, Deyuan; DeFillipps, Robert A. (2000), “Commelina diffusa”, in Wu, Z. Y.; Raven, P.H.; Hong, D.Y., Flora of China, vol. 24, Beijing: Science Press; St. Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, pp. 36 
  2. ^ a b c Faden, Robert (2006), “Commelina benghalensis”, in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+, Flora of North America online, vol. 22, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press 
  3. ^ Acevedo-Rodriguez, Pedro; Strong, Mark T. (2005), “Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands”, Contributions of the United States National Herbarium 52: 158 
  4. ^ a b c d Faden, Robert B. (1993), “The misconstrued and rare species of Commelina (Commelinaceae) in the eastern United States”, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 80 (1): 208-218, <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-6493%281993%2980%3A1%3C208%3ATMARSO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y> 
  5. ^ a b c Webster, Theodore M.; Burton, Michael G; Culpepper, A. Stanley; York, Alan C.; Prostko, Eric P. (2005), “Tropical Spiderwort (Commelina benghalensis): A Tropical Invader Threatens Agroecosystems of the Southern United States”, Weed Technology 19 (3): 501-508 
  6. ^ Qaiser, M.; Jafri, S.M.H. (1975), “Commelina benghalensis”, in Ali, S.I.; Qaiser, M., Flora of Pakistan, vol. 84, St. Louis: University of Karachi & Missouri Botanical Garden, pp. 10 

[edit] External links