Commelina diffusa (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Commelina diffusa Burm.f.

Protologue: Fl. indica: 18, t. 7, f. 2 (1768).

Synonyms

• Commelina nudiflora auct. non L.

Vernacular names

• Spreading dayflower, creeping dayflower (En)
• Indonesia: brambangan (Javanese), gewor lalakina (Sundanese), awarang (Makassar)
• Malaysia: rumput aur, rumput kupu-kupu
• Philippines: alikbangon (Tagalog), gatilang (Bontok), kulkul-lasi (Iloko)
• Vietnam: thài lài trắng.

Distribution

Widespread in the tropics and subtropics; in the United States occurring up to New Jersey.

Uses

In Peninsular Malaysia, the leaves are widely used for poulticing sores. In Indonesia, the crushed leaves and stems are used for irregular menstruation. Dirty wounds are poulticed with the mucilage from the stems. The leaves are edible and may be used as a vegetable.

Observations

• A normally perennial, prostrate to ascending, much branched herb, variably hairy.
• Leaves oblong to lanceolate, 3-7 cm × 1-2 cm, apex obtuse to acuminate, often nearly glabrous; spathe normally solitary, semi-ovate, 0.8-2 cm long, apex acute or acuminate, glabrescent, margins free.
• Upper raceme with 1-3 male flowers, lower raceme with 1-5 bisexual flowers, peduncle 0.5–-5 cm long.
• Flower 1.5 cm in diameter, petals 6-7 mm long, blue, fertile stamens 3, staminodes 2-3.
• Capsule ovoid, 6-7 mm long, 3-celled, usually 5-seeded, 1 seed larger.
• Seed 2-3 mm long, black, reticulate, ridged on one side.

C. diffusa is commonly found in moist fields, along ditches, on waste land and under bamboo, on soils rich in clay or humus, from sea-level up to 2000 m altitude. C. diffusa var. gigas (Small) Faden is hexaploid.

Selected sources

• [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.
• [407] Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• [418] Holdsworth, D.K., 1977. Medicinal plants of Papua New Guinea. Technical Paper No 175. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 123 pp.
• [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.
• [696] Morton, J.F., 1981. Atlas of medicinal plants of Middle America. Bahamas to Yucatan. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, United States. 1420 pp.
• [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.

Main genus page

• Commelina (Medicinal plants)

Authors

• Isa Ipor