Commelina benghalensis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Commelina benghalensis L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 41 (1753).

Vernacular names

• Wandering jew (En)
• Indonesia: petungan, kekupu (Javanese), tali korang (Sundanese)
• Malaysia: rumput mayiam
• Philippines: bias-bias (Tagalog), kabilau (Bisaya), kulkul-lasi (Iloko)
• Burma (Myanmar): myet-cho
• Laos: kaab pii
• Vietnam: dầu riều, thài lài lông.

Distribution

Widely dispersed in the Old World tropics and the Pacific Islands, and naturalized in South America and Florida.

Uses

In the Philippines and India, the whole plant is considered demulcent, laxative and astringent, and applied for strangury. In Taiwan the aerial parts are used as a maturative poultice. The fresh plants are for sale in Chinese herbalist shops in Malaysia.

Young tops taste slightly bitter and are steamed as a vegetable in Indonesia and Indo-China.

Observations

• An annual to perennial, creeping or ascending herb, usually pubescent, rhizomatous.
• Leaves ovate to elliptical, 4-7 cm × 2-4 cm, apex obtuse to acuminate, sheath rusty ciliate.
• Normally 1 spathe per axil, boat-shaped, about 1.5 cm long, margins partly connate, upper raceme in spathe with 1-3 sterile flowers, lower raceme with 1-5 bisexual flowers, peduncle short, 0.5-1 cm long.
• Flower 1.5 cm in diameter, petals 3-4 mm long, blue or violet, rarely white, fertile stamens 3, staminodes 3, 1 often without anther, cleistogamous flowers sometimes under ground on rhizomes.
• Capsule elongate-globular, 4-6 mm long, 3-celled, 5-seeded, 1 seed larger than the others.
• Seed 1.5-3.5 mm long, strongly ribbed-wrinkled, greyish-brown.

C. benghalensis is growing in less humid conditions than C. diffusa, on sunny or lightly shaded localities, grass land, waste places and compost heaps, along roadsides, around villages, on rich, often heavy soils, from sea-level up to 1000 m altitude.

Selected sources

• [22] Ahanchede, A. & Gasquez, J., 1992. Variabilité enzymatique de Commelina benghalensis (L.) au Bénin [Enzymatic variability of Commelina benghalensis (L.) in Benin]. IXe Colloque International sur la Biologie des Mauvaises Herbes, Dijon, France. pp. 427—436.
• [134] Burkill, H.M., 1985—2000. The useful plants of West tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. 5 volumes. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Vol. 1 (1985), Families A—D, 960 pp.; Vol. 2 (1994), Families E—I, 636 pp.; Vol. 3 (1995), Families J—L, 857 pp.; Vol. 4 (1997), Families M—R, 969 pp; Vol. 5 (2000), Families S—Z, 686 pp.
• [135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—Z) pp. 1241—2444.
• [215] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948—1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
• [352] Gonzales, C.B. & Haddad, C.R.B., 1995. Light and temperature effects on flowering and seed germination of Commelina benghalensis L. Arquivos de Biologia e Tecnologia (Curitiba) 38(2): 651—659. (in Portuguese)
• [459] Huxley, A., Griffiths, M. & Levy, M., 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 4 volumes. The MacMillan Press Ltd., London, United Kingdom. 3353 pp.
• [605] Li, H.-L. et al. (Editors), 1975—1979. Flora of Taiwan. Angiospermae. 6 volumes. Epoch Publishing Co., Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
• [747] Ochse, J.J. & Bakhuizen van den Brink, R.C., 1980. Vegetables of the Dutch East Indies. 3rd English edition (translation of "Indische groenten"", 1931). Asher & Co., Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 1016 pp.
• [914] Siemonsma, J.S. & Kasem Piluek (Editors), 1993. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 8. Vegetables. Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, the Netherlands. 412 pp.

Main genus page

• Commelina (Medicinal plants)
• Commelina (Vegetables)

Authors

• Isa Ipor