COMM-ELINA. 
and tlie heft: edition. He took up bis refidence at Heidel¬ 
berg, for the convenience of turning over the manul'cripts 
Sn the palatine library. He printed many other books ; 
thofe without his name are known by his mark, which re- 
prefents Truth fitting in a chair. 
COMMELTNA, f. [fo named by Plunder, from the 
two Commclins , John and Cafpar, brothers, and famous 
Dutch botanills.] In botany, a genus of the clafs trian- 
dria, order monogynia, natural order of enfatse. The ge¬ 
neric charaflers are—Calyx : fpathe cordate, converging, 
compreffed, very large, permanent. Corolla : petals fix, 
of which the three exterior are (mall, ovate, concave, 
refembling a perianthium ; the three inferior ones alter¬ 
nate, very-large, roundifh, coloured; neffaries three, re¬ 
fembling ftamens, leated on their proper filaments, cruci¬ 
form, horizontal. Stamina: filaments three, tubulate, 
reclined, agreeing in figure and circuit with the filaments 
of the nefiary, but inferior to them ; antherae ovate. Pif- 
tillum : germ iuperior, roundifh; ftyle lubulate, revo¬ 
lute, length of the ftamens ; ftigma fimple. Pericarpium : 
capfule naked, nearly globular, three-furrowed, three- 
celled, three-valyed. Seeds: two, angulated.— Etfential 
CharaSier. Corolla, fix-petalled j nedtaries three, croi's- 
fliaped, pedicelled. 
Species. I. With two petals larger, i. Commelina 
communis, or common American commelina : corollas 
unequal; leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute; ftem creeping, 
fmooth. This is an annual plant, having (everal trail¬ 
ing ftaiks, that put out roots at the joints. At each 
joint is one leaf, which is fmooth, of a deep green, 
marked with leveral longitudinal nerves, and embracing 
the ftalk. Flowers axillary, two or three together, on 
fhort peduncles. Corolla compofed of two large blue 
petals, and four fmall green ones. Stems, according to 
the obfervatioii of Diilenius, from a foot to two feet in 
length and more, branching. Leaves refembling thofe 
of fopewort, feeling roughilh if ftroked from the bafe up¬ 
wards, but having no hairs except at the edges of the 
(heaths. Native of America, the Weft-India iflands, and 
Africa. Cultivated in 1732, by Dr. Sherard, at Eltham. 
It flowers in June and July, and the feeds ripen in autumn. 
2. Commelina Africana, or African commelina: co¬ 
rollas unequal; leaves lanceolate, fmooth ; ftem proftrate. 
Root fibrous; ftaiks many, trailing, three feet long, put¬ 
ting out roots at every joint, fo that where it has room 
to fpread it will cover a large furface. The leaves are 
very like thofe of the firft fort, but the flowers are larger, 
and of a deep yellow colour; the feed-veffels alfo are 
larger. It difleis from the firft alfo in having larger kid¬ 
ney-form yellow petals, with a third ovate, equal to them, 
but with longer filaments; the (heaths of the leaves are 
ciliated, the involucre not netted; the fheaths have ano¬ 
ther very fmall lheath within them. Capfule ovate, two- 
valved, three-celled. Seeds in the upper cells, two, three, 
or four, roundilh, fmooth, always barren; in the lower 
cell'fertile, the whole covered with the valve growing to 
it, elliptic, flat above, and convex below. Native of 
Africa; flowers in July, and the feeds ripen in autumn. 
3. Commelina Benghalenfis, or Eaft-Indian commelina : 
corollas unequal; leaves ovate, obtufe; ftem creeping. 
Root annual; (Loureiro fays perennial.) Steins nume¬ 
rous, dilfufed, creeping at the bafe either by teats or 
fibres, then afcending to a (pan or foot in height, round- 
5 ( 1 ’,, ftriated,-hirfute, jointed, the internodes two inches 
long, branches from the very bafe, alternate, the lower 
ones long^li. Leaves before they open rolled in, from 
an inch to an inch and a half in length, nerved, pube- 
fcent, waved. Petioles ciliate with brown hairs, at firft 
linear, then (heathing; (heaths marked with lines, fpotted 
with purple. Native of Bengal and Cochinchina. 
4. Commelina eredla, or upright Virginian commelina: 
corollas unequal; leaves ovate-lanceolate; ftem credit, 
fobhirfute, entirely fimple. Root perennial; Item's a foot 
and a half high, having a fmgle leaf at each joint, (haped 
like thole of the firft fort, and embracing the ftem ; 
flowers axillary at the upper part of the ftalk, on lhort 
VOL.IV. No. Z44. 
S 5 3 
peduncles 5 petals pale blue. Leaves fubhirfute, but not 
hairy except at tlie (heath. The flowers are larger that* 
in the firft fort, plaited about the edge, and as it were 
crenated, finely ftriated. Of the three coloured petals the 
two upper only are confpicuous, the third is fmall and 
very narrow, whitifh, and pullucid ; the three outer pe¬ 
tals are (lender, the upper one fmaller than the other two, 
which ate blueifli; capfules roundifh, obtufely triangular, 
three feeded. Cultivated in 1732, by J. Sherard, M. D. 
II. Zanonias, with three petals 1 rger. 5. Commelina. 
Virginica : corollas nearly equal ; leaves lanceolate, fub- 
petioled, bearded on the edge; Hems upright, eredf, Am¬ 
ple, gloffy, two feet high ; leaves fcabrous on the upper 
l'urface, when rubbed from the bafe; (heaths nerved, fub- 
pubefcent, ciliated about the edge with ferruginous hairs. 
Flowers blue, with the petals cordate, and very entire j 
the lower one on a fhort pedicel. The ftruciure and fruit 
like that of the firft fpecies, but the capfule a little larger, 
and whitifh ; the feeds more wrinkled, and bay, inclining 
to afh-colour. Native of Virginia. Perennial. 
6. Commelina tuberofa, or tuberous-rooted commelina: 
corollas equal; leaves foible, oval-lanceolate, fubciliate. 
This has a thick fldhy root compofed of leveral tubers, 
fomewhat like thofe of ranunculus, feveral joining toge¬ 
ther at the top, where they form a head, and diminifli 
gradually downwards; from this arife one or two inclin¬ 
ing ftaiks, which put out fide branches from their lower 
parts. Some of the leaves are on long petioles, others 
embrace the ftalk ; they have (hort hairs on their u'nder 
furface, and towards the ftalk, but are fmooth above, of 
a deep green colour, and clofe every evening, or in cold 
weather. The flowers are axillary towards the upper part 
of the ftalk, on (lender peduncles. Corolla compofed of 
three large roundifh blue petals, and three fmaller, which 
are green. Cultivated in 1732, in the Eltham garden, 
from feeds fent from Mexico, where it is faid to grow on 
the mountains. It is ufed there externally for dilcufling 
tumours, and internally in hot plethoric habits. Mr. Miller 
had it from Vera Cruz in New Spain, by Dr. Houftoun. 
7. Commelina zanonia, or gentian-leaved commelina :■ 
corollas equal; peduncles thickened; leaves lanceolate; 
(heaths (welling, hirfute about the edge ; bra fees in pairs. 
This has trailing ftaiks like the firft, with narrow graify 
leaves, embracing the ftaiks with their bafe. The flowers 
are produced at the ends of tire ftaiks upon thick pedun¬ 
cles, three flowers generally on each. The corolla has 
three equal large petals of a Iky blue, and three fmaller, 
which are green. Native of the Weft Indies ; Miller had 
the feeds from the ifland of Barbuda; cultivated in 1759 
by him. It flowers from June to Auguft, but does not 
perfect feeds in England. 
8. Commelina vaginata, or (heathed commelina: c&f 
rollas equal; leaves linear; flowers two-ftamened, Iheathed 
with an involucre. Annual; ftems afcending, numerous, 
fomewhat fcabrous. Found by Koenig in the Eaft Indies. 
9. Commelina nudiflora: corollas equal; peduncles ca¬ 
pillary; leaves linear; involucre none; flowers two-fta¬ 
mened. Annual. Found by Koenig in dry paltures of the 
Eaft Indies. 
10. Commelinafpirata, or fpear-leaved commelina: co¬ 
rollas equal; leaves lanceolate; flowers panicled. An¬ 
nual; ftem creeping, afcending, fomewhat fcabrous. Ob- 
ferved by Koenig in the Eaft Indies, in moift places near 
brooks. Introduced in 1783 by John eari of Bute; flowers 
in July and Auguft. 
11. Commelina cucullata, or hooded commelina: co¬ 
rollas unequal, two-petalled; leaves ovate; involucres 
cowled, turbinate. Stem eredt, a (pan high, creeping at 
the bafe with filiform roots; (Linnaeus;) but, according 
to Loureiro, it is a foot and a half high, and red; leaves 
five-nerved, waved. The two large petals of the corolla 
bright blue ; the four others he attributes to the calyx, 
and affirms that it certainly has no more than two large 
petals; though Linnaeus, on the authority of Burmann, 
puts it. among the tripetalous fpecies. Murray fuppofes 
it not to be different from commelina Benghalenfis. Pro- 
so H bably 
