COMMELINACEAE. 



63 



1. Commelina longicaulis 

 J acq. Creeping Day-flower. 

 Chicken-grass. Poultry- 

 grass. (Fig, 89.) Glabrous or 

 very nearly so; stems procum- 

 bent or creeping, l°-3° long. 

 Leaves lanceolate or ovate- 

 lanceolate, l'-3' long, acute or 

 acuminate at the apex, their 

 sheaths sometimes ciliate ; 

 spathe acuminate, f'-lj' long, 

 peduncled, the 2 bracts not 

 united by their margins; flowers 

 few in each spathe, 3"-6" 

 broad; ventral cavities of the 

 ovary 2-ovuled, the dorsal 1- 

 ovuled; capsule commonly 5- 

 seeded (2 seeds In each of the 

 ventral cells, 1 in the dorsal) ; 

 seeds oblong, reticulated, about 

 1" long. [C. agraria Kunth; C. 

 communis of Jones ; C. nudi- 

 flora of Clarke, not of Linnaeus.] 



Common in moist or wet 

 shaded situations. Native. South- 

 eastern United States, West In- 

 dies and tropical continental 

 America. Flowers nearly through- 

 out the year. Its seeds perhaps 

 transported by birds. 



leaves, and few subsessile 

 a cylindric tube, persistent. 



2. Commelina elegans II.B.K. 



Larger Day-flower. (Fig. 90.) Stems 

 branching at the base, the branches de- 

 cumbent, rooting at the nodes, pubescent 

 at least below the nodes; leaves lanceo- 

 late to elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 1'- 

 4' long, acute or acuminate at the apex, 

 often rounded at the base, the sheaths 

 naked or sparingly ciliate on the mar- 

 gin ; spathes short-peduncled, pubescent, 

 7"-10" long, acute; petals blue or white; 

 capsules broadly obovoid, 2" long; seeds 

 3, about 1^" long, slightly flattened, 

 smooth. This species has been referred 

 by authors to C. virgiiiwa L. 



Frequent in waste and cultivated 

 grounds. Naturalized. Native of Florida, 

 West Indies and tropical continental 

 America. Flowers from spring to autumn. 



2. ZEBRINA Schnitzl. 

 A succulent, decumbent or pros- 

 trate, perennial herb, with ovate nearly 

 small clustered flowers. Sepals connat*^ 

 Petals also connate below, with spread- 



mto 



ing limbs. Stamens 6, equal, perfect. Ovary 3-celled, the cavities with 

 2 ovules. Capsule 3-celled, with 1 or 2 seeds in each cavity. [Latin, from the 

 striped leaves.] A monotypic genus. 



