MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS yy 
I. COMMELINA, Dill. 
Annual or perennial, stem branching, erect or procumbent, 
smooth or downy. Leaves petioled or sessile, entire, the 
floral ones heart-shaped, folded, and forming a spathe enclos- 
ing the base of the cymes. Flowers irregular, sepals mostly 
colored, 1 of them smaller. Petals blue, unequal, 2 of them 
kidney-shaped and long-clawed, the other smaller. Stamens 6, 
only 3 of them fertile, filaments smooth. Capsule 1-3-celled, 
seeds 1-2 in each cell.* 
1. C. virginica, L. VirerntaA DAYFLOWER. Stem erect, downy, 
1-2 ft. high. Leaves lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed, 
3-5 in. long, somewhat rough above, sheaths inflated, hairy, 
the opening often fringed. Spathes containing a slimy secretion. 
Flowers 1 in. wide, the odd petal lanceolate. Capsule 3-seeded, the 
dorsal cell not splitting open. On moist, sandy soil.* 
II. TRADESCANTIA, L. 
Perennial, stem simple or branched. Leaves very narrow. 
Flowers in terminal and axillary bracted umbels, regular, 
1 in. broad. Sepals 3, herbaceous. Petals 3, soon falling or 
liquefying to jelly. Stamens 6, sometimes 3 shorter than the 
others, filaments bearded or smooth. Ovary 3-celled, with 
2 ovules in each cell, pedicels recurved in fruit. Capsule 
3-celled, 3-valved, 3-6-seeded.* 
1. T. virginica, L. Sprp—Erwort. Stem erect, stout, smooth, 
or with long, soft hairs, 1-2 ft. high. Leaves linear, keeled, often 
purple-veined, long, taper-pointed, 1 ft. or more in length. Bracts 
similar to the leaves, umbels sessile, 2-many-flowered, flowers in 2 
rows in the bud. Petals blue or purple, twice as long as the sepals. 
Stamens blue, filaments densely bearded. Capsule ovoid or oblong. 
On dry, sandy soil.* 
2. T. pilosa, Lehm. Harry Spiperwor?r. Stem stout, erect, or 
zigzag, branched, with long, soft hairs, or nearly smooth, 1-2 ft. 
high. Leaves linear-oblong, taper-pointed at the apex, narrowed at 
the base, hairy on both sides. Umbels axillary and terminal, many- 
flowered. Pedicels and sepals with soft, glandular hairs. Flowers 
blue or purple, 3-1 in. wide. Seeds pitted. In rich soil.* 
