Erect Dayflower

Erect Dayflower, Slender Dayflower, White-Mouth Dayflower

Commelina erecta L.

Commelinaceae (Spiderwort Family)

▲ ▼ flowers. with very small lower white petal

▲ ▼ flowers, showing sheath closed on side toward stem

▲ ▼ colony near Republic, MO

▲ ▼ leaf and stem characteristics

▲ ▼ leaves, showing narrower leaves

Dayflowers:

Several species present in Missouri, some are summer annuals, but some species are perennial here, with creeping roots and stems rooting at the nodes
Are monocots in the Spiderwort (Commelinaceae) Family
All have light-green to dark green, alternate, oval-pointed leaves with parallel veins (is a monocot) in the Spiderwort (Commelinaceae) Family
All have small, blue flowers that have two deep blue upper petals (and sometimes one much-smaller white lower petal); flowers are in little boat-shaped spathes (sepal-like structures) in the axils of the leaves
Can reproduce by seed and vegetative means--cut stems can root readily in moist ground
Prefers moist, fertile soil--gardens, cultivated fields--but also will grow on roadsides, non-crop areas
Has a sprawling growth habit--long stems can create a tangled web in gardens, flower beds
Is related to several houseplant species--wandering jew, inch plant--and the native perennial spiderwort

Erect Dayflower:

An annual or perennial weed with upright and spreading stems that roots at nodes to spread; native to the U.S.
Leaves narrower than other species, with white hairs on sheath margins, and sometimes fine hairs on leaf surface
On this species, there are 3 petals (two upper, large, blue; one lower, very small, white); similar spreading dayflower lacks the third white petal
The boat-shaped spathes are closed on the side toward the stem, but open on the other side; the spathes are often covered with tiny, soft hairs; similar Asiatic dayflower and spreading dayflower spathes are open on both sides/ends