Search
iNaturalist: Sugar maple spotting slows as Canada's fall color fades iNaturalist: Red oak spotting slows down as fall colors fade iNaturalist: This fuzzy forest moss is suddenly everywhere in Canada iNaturalist: Milkweed sightings stay high across Canada as autumn sets in iNaturalist: Invasive buckthorn sightings surge across Canada this week iNaturalist: Pokeweed sightings dip slightly as fall observation seaso... iNaturalist: This weedy wetland plant is everywhere on iNaturalist this week iNaturalist: Eastern redcedar is having a moment on iNaturalist this week iNaturalist: Sugar maple spotting slows as Canada's fall color fades iNaturalist: Red oak spotting slows down as fall colors fade iNaturalist: This fuzzy forest moss is suddenly everywhere in Canada iNaturalist: Milkweed sightings stay high across Canada as autumn sets in
Asiatic dayflower Asiatic dayflower
Plant family

Commelinaceae

Called “spiderwort family” in GBIF

Commelinaceae is a family of flowering plants. In less formal contexts, the group is referred to as the dayflower family or spiderwort family. It is one of five families in the order Commelinales and by far the largest of these with about 731 known species in 41 genera. Well known genera include Commelina (dayflowers) and Tradescantia (spiderworts). The family is diverse in both the Old World tropics and the New World tropics, with some genera present in both. The variation in morphology, especially that of the flower and inflorescence, is considered to be exceptionally high amongst the angiosperms.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

902
accepted species in GBIF
Source: GBIF
57
genera in GBIF
Source: GBIF
3
plants on Plant News
3
research articles
Browse by topic
menu_bookField guide scienceResearch3

What science is finding about Commelinaceae

Every article on Plant News that mentions a member of this family, newest first.

Mirror-image flowers are evolving toward self-pollination in some populations

If you've ever wondered why some wildflower patches produce fewer seeds or less genetic variety than others, this shows how a...

Wachendorfia plant-signaling / pollinators

whitemouth dayflower (Commelina erecta) observed in Shamrock Park and Nature Center, Venice, FL, US

Next time you walk through a Florida park, look for the bright blue two-petaled flowers of whitemouth dayflower tucked along...

Whitemouth Dayflower citizen-science / native-plants