Commelina acutispatha is an herbaceous plant in the dayflower family found primarily in East and Central Africa, including limited distribution in the African Great Lakes country of Uganda. In addition to that country, it is known from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a common species in regions of West Africa with significant forest cover, where it is often weedy. It is most common in disturbed, moist soils, in which it scrambles over other plants. The name Commelina thomasii was often used for West African plants until it was realized that Commelina acutispatha, an older name originally applied to plants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was the same species. The petals range in color from white to pale lilac to violet; the lower petal is about half as large as the upper paired petals. The central anther is reported to have a blue patch on the connective. It has solitary spathes borne on a peduncle covered in hook-hairs.[3]
| Commelina acutispatha | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Commelinales |
| Family: | Commelinaceae |
| Genus: | Commelina |
| Species: | C. acutispatha
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| Binomial name | |
| Commelina acutispatha | |
| Synonyms | |
References
edit- ^ de Wildeman, Emile Auguste Joseph (1931). Plantae Bequaertianae, Études sur les Récoltes Botaniques du Dr. J. Bequaert, Chargé de Missions au Congo Belge (1913–1915). Vol. 5. Gand: J. Lechevalier. p. 164.
- ^ Hutchinson, J. (1939). "Tropical African Plants: XVII". Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Gardens, Kew). 1939 (5): 241–247. doi:10.2307/4111618. JSTOR 4111618.
- ^ Faden, Robert B. (2012), "Commelinaceae", in Beentje, Henk (ed.), Flora of Tropical East Africa, Richmond, Surrey: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, pp. 145–146, ISBN 978-1-84246-436-6