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Commelina benghalensis L.

Overview
General Information
ID Info
Similar Species
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Aperçu
Renseignements Généraux
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Family :

Famille :

Commelinaceae

Synonym(s) :

Synonyme(s) :

Commelina cavaleriei H. Léveillé. (FOC 1994+)
Commelina prostrata Regel (CABI 2023)

Common Name(s) :

Nom(s) commun(s) :

Tropical spiderwort

(English) (CABI 2023; Tropicos 2023)
Benghal dayflower (English) (CABI 2023; ITIS 2023; USDA-ARS 2023)
Herbe aux cochons (French) (CABI 2023)
饭包草 fan bao cao (Chinese) (FOC 1994+)
Kanchara (Hindi) (Wiersema & León 2016; CABI 2023; USDA-ARS 2023)

Commelina benghalensis seeds

  • Commelina benghalensis seeds

  • Commelina benghalensis seeds

  • Commelina benghalensis seeds

  • Commelina benghalensis seeds

  • Commelina benghalensis seed

  • Commelina benghalensis seed

  • Commelina benghalensis seed

  • Commelina benghalensis seed embryotega

  • Commelina benghalensis seed embryotega

  • Commelina benghalensis cross section with embryo

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Overview

Aperçu

Regulation :

Remarques Réglementation:

    Regulation Notes:

    Distribution :

    Répartition :

    Commelina benghalensis is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, India, southeast Asia and Australia (Holm et al. 1991). It was introduced to the continental United States in 1928, where it has since expanded throughout the southeastern states and into California (Faden 1983). This species is absent from Canada (Brouillet et al. 2010).

    Habitat and Crop Association :

    Habitat et Cultures Associées :

    This species is adapted to high temperatures, moist, fertile soils and establishes readily in cultivated fields. It is a common weed of Coffea spp. (coffee), Zea mays (corn), Gossypium hirsutum (cotton), Triticum aestivum (wheat), Oryza sativa (rice), Camellia sinensis (tea), and Glycine max (soybeans) (Holm et al. 1991). In Australia, it is associated with Arachis hypogaea (peanuts), Phaseolus vulgaris (beans), Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) and Zea mays (maize) (Walker and Evenson 1985). It is a problem weed of Gossypium hirsutum (cotton) in the southeastern United States where it has developed herbicide tolerance (Faden 1983).

    Economic Use, cultivation area, and Weed Association :

    Utilisation économique, zone de culture et association de mauvaises herbes :

    This species may be used as a herbal medicine in tropical Asia and the Indian subcontinent (Ghosh et al. 2019).

    Duration of Life Cycle :

    Durée du cycle vital:

    Annual or Perennial

    Dispersal Unit Type :

    Type d’unité de dispersion :

    Seed

    General Information

    RENSEIGNEMENTS GÉNÉRAUX

    C. benghalensis acts as a perennial in tropical habitats and as an annual in more temperate areas like the United States (Holm et al. 1991). Tropical plants have a higher ploidy level (hexaploid) and only produce aerial flowers, while temperate plants are a lower ploidy (diploid) and produce both above and below ground flowers (Holm et al. 1991; Webster et al. 2005).

    Seed production was measured at 8000 per square meter for plants grown from below ground seeds and 12000 from plants grown from above ground seeds in Australia (Walker and Evenson 1995). Seed buried in the soil remained viable for 39-48 months in southern United States (Riar et al. 2012).

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    Identification

    Identification

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    >

    • Capsule

      Size

      Capsule size from literature:

      • Length: 4-6 mm (FNA 1993+)
      • Length: 5-6 mm; width 3-4 mm (Joseph and Nampy 2012)

      Shape

      • Capsule oval or oblong shaped

      Surface Texture

      • Capsule surface is smooth

      Colour

      • Capsule is dull straw yellow when mature

      Other Features

      • Capsules may develop either above or below ground, with dimorphic seeds (Scher et al. 2015)
      • The capsule has three chambers, two each with 1-4 seeds, and a one-seeded indehiscent chamber shed with the capsule (Joseph and Nampy 2012)
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    >

    • Seed from above ground capsule

      Size

      • Seed size*: length: 2.7 – 3.5 mm; width: 2.1 – 2.5 mm
      *Note: minimum and maximum of 8 seeds in a normal range of this species using image measurement (ISMA 2020)

      Seed size from literature:
      • Length: 2 mm (Holm et al. 1991)
      • Length: 1.7-2.5 mm (FNA 1993+)
      • Length: 2 mm; width 1.5 mm (Joseph and Nampy 2012)
      • Length: 1.5-2.5 mm; width: 0.8-1.1 (Scher et al. 2015)

      Shape

      • Above ground seeds are generally half-oval shaped with one end truncate, but can be almost square or oval with a truncate end
      • Seed is compressed planoconvex in profile view (one side convex, the other flat)

      Surface Texture

      • Seed surface ridged reticulate with thin ridges and large, polygonal, concave interspaces
      • Seed surface covered in scattered, white granules
      • Seed with brown, flat tubercles are along the surface ridges and scattered on the flat hilum side
      • Hilum is a longitudinal ridge in the centre of the flat side of the seed

      Colour

      • Seed is generally dull grayish-brown, but can be brown, grey, or a whitish grey colour

      Other Features

      • The embryotega, a small, oval shaped lid that opens during germination, is located centrally on the lateral side (narrow edge) of the seed

      Commelina benghalensis seeds

    • Seed from below ground capsule

      Size

      • Seed size*: length: 4.2 – 4.3 mm; width: 2.5 mm
      *Note: minimum and maximum of 2 seeds in a normal range of this species using image measurement (ISMA 2020)

      Seed size from literature:
      • Length: 2-3.5 mm; width: 1.3-2.1 mm (Scher et al. 2015)

      Shape

      • Seed is generally oval shaped, but can be oblong or D-shaped
      • Seed is compressed planoconvex in profile view (one side convex, the other flat)

      Surface Texture

      • Surface ridged reticulate with thin ridges and large, polygonal, concave interspaces
      • Seed surface covered in scattered, white granules
      • Brown, flat tubercles are along the surface ridges and scattered on the flat hilum side
      • Hilum is a longitudinal ridge in the centre of the flat side of the seed

      Colour

      • Seed is generally dull greyish-brown, but can be brown, grey, or a whitish grey colour

      Other Features

      • The embryotega, a small, oval shaped lid that opens during germination, is located centrally on the lateral side (narrow edge) of the seed

      Commelina benghalensis seeds

    <
    >

    • Embryo

      Size

      • Embryo rudimentary

      Shape

      • Embryo intermediate capitate-broad shaped (Martin 1946)

      Endosperm

      • Endosperm is hard, translucent grey coloured

      Other Features

      • Embryo in basal position
      • Embryo adjacent to the embryotega (oval lid on the narrow side of the seed)

      Commelina benghalensis cross section with embryo

    Identification Tips

    CONSEILS POUR L’IDENTIFICATION

    The seeds of Commelina species are generally oval-shaped or with 1-2 truncate ends. They have a linear hilum on the flat side and an embryotega (round lid over the embryo) on the lateral edge (FNA 1993+). The combination of ridged reticulate and granular seed surface can distinguish C. benghalensis from other Commelina species that may have double reticulate, pitted, wrinkled or smooth surfaces.

    Commelina benghalensis seeds

    Additional Botany Information

    AUTRES RENSEIGNEMENTS BOTANIQUES

    Flowers/Inflorescence

    • 2 types of flowers: open flowers on above ground stalks and closed flowers (cleistogamous) on below ground rhizomes (FNA 1993+; Webster et al. 2005)
    • Above ground flowers have 3 petals, 3-4 mm long (Holm et al. 1991)
    • 2 petals are blue to lilac in colour, and the lower petal is light blue or white (FNA 1993+; Holm et al. 1991)

    Vegetative Features

    • Plant with sheathing leaves, leaf base without clasping bracts and red hairs are at the top of the sheath (Holm et al. 1991; FNA 1993+)
    • Leaf blades are egg-shaped or narrow oval shaped, length: (1–)2–9(–11) × 1–3(–4.5) cm, covered with fine hairs (FNA 1993+)

    Similar Species

    ESPÈCES SEMBLABLES

    Similar species are based on a study of seed morphology of various species, and those with similar dispersal units are identified. The study is limited by physical specimen and literature availability at the time of examination, and possibly impacted by the subjectivity of the authors based on their knowledge and experience. Providing similar species information for seed identification is to make users aware of similarities that could possibly result in misidentification.

    Commelina diffusa Burm. f.

    The seeds of C. diffusa are a similar size (length: 2–2.8(–3.2) mm; width 1.4-1.8 mm, FNA 1993+) as C. benghalensis seeds. The seed surface is ridged reticulate with smaller reticulations within the interspaces (double reticulate) compared to C. benghalensis (FNA 1993+)

     

    Commelina sikkimensis C.B. Clarke

    Seeds are a similar size or larger than C. benghalensis (length: 3 – 4 mm; width: 2 – 3 mm, Joseph and Rampy 2012), blackish-brown coloured, not granular, surface reticulate with shallow or deep interspaces, under 40x magnification, the surface is finely bubbled, reticulate or roughened.

     

    Commelina communis L.

    Seeds are similar in size or smaller than C. benghalensis (length: (2–)2.5–4.2 mm; width: 2.2–3 mm, FNA 1993+) light brown coloured, surface shallowly reticulate with thick ridges, surface granular, with more dense and smaller granules compared to C. benghalensis. The hilum is black, slightly raised, and extends nearly the length of the seed, curving along the truncate edge.

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    Reference(s)

    Référence(s)

    Brouillet, L., Coursol, F., Meades, S. J., Favreau, M., Anions, M., Bélisle, P. and Desmet, P. 2010+. VASCAN, the database of vascular plants of Canada. http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/ Accessed April 26, 2023.

    Budd, G.D., Thomas, P.E.L., Allison, J.C.S. 1979. Vegetation regeneration, depth of germination and seed dormancy in Commelina benghalensis L. Rhodesia Journal of Agricultural Research 17: 151-154.

    Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI). 2023. Invasive Species Compendium, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/journal/cabicompendium Accessed October 26, 2023.

    Faden, R.B. 1983. The misconstrued and rare species of Commelina (Commelinaceae) in the eastern United States. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 80: 208–218.

    Flora of China (FOC) 1994+. Commelina benghalensis Vol. 24 Page 37 (English edition). http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=222000036 Accessed October 26, 2023.

    Flora of North America (FNA) Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. 22+ vols. New York and Oxford. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org. Accessed April 25, 2023.

    Ghosh, P., Dutta, A., Biswas, M., Biswas, S., Hazra, L., Nag, S.K., Sil, S. and Chatterjee, S. 2019. Phytomorphological, chemical and pharmacological discussions about Commelina benghalensis Linn. (Commelinaceae): A review. The Pharma Innovation Journal 8: 12-18.

    Holm, L.G., Plucknett, D.L., Pancho, J.V. and Herberger, J.P. 1991. World Weeds: Distribution and Biology. Krieger Publishing Company, Florida. 609 pp.

    Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2023. https://www.itis.gov/ Accessed October 26, 2023.

    International Seed Morphology Association (ISMA). 2020. Method for Seed Size Measurement. Version 1.0. ISMA Publication Guide.

    Joseph, S.M. and Rampy, S. 2012. Capsule and seed morphology of Commelina L. (Commelinaceae) in relation to taxonomy. International Journal of Botany 8: 1-12.

    Martin, A.C. 1946. The comparative internal morphology of seeds. The American Midland Naturalist 36: 513-660.

    Riar, M.K., Webster, T.M., Brecke, B.J., Jordan, D.L., Burton, M.G., Telenko, D.P., and Rufty, T.W. 2012. Benghal dayflower (Commelina benghalensis) seed viability in soil. Weed Science 60:589–592.

    Scher, J. L.,Walters, D.S., and Redford, A.J.. 2015. Federal Noxious Weed Disseminules of the U.S., Edition 2.2. California Department of Food and Agriculture, and USDA APHIS Identification Technology Program. Fort Collins, CO. http://idtools.org/id/fnw Accessed November 3, 2023.

    Tropicos. 2023. Missouri Botanical Garden. https://tropicos.org Accessed October 26, 2023.

    U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Services (USDA-ARS). 2023. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearch Accessed October 26, 2023.

    Walker, S.R. and Evenson, J.P. 1985. Biology of Commelina benghalensis L. in south-eastern Queensland. 1. Growth, development and seed production. Weed Research 25: 239-244.

    Webster, T.M., Burton, M.G., Culpepper, A.S., York, A.C. and Prostko, E.P. 2005. Tropical Spiderwort (Commelina benghalensis): A tropical invader threatens agroecosystems of the southern United States. Weed Technology 19:501–508.

    Wiersema, John, H. and Blanca León. 2016. World Economic Plants. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (2nd Edition). Taylor & Francis.

     

    Author(s)

    AUTEUR(S)

    Jennifer Neudorf, Angela Salzl, Ruojing Wang

    Canadian Food Inspection Agency

     

    contactus@idseed.org

    Last updated
    on 2023-03-27

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