Commelina communis
| Commelina communis | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Commelina communis (common name: day flower)
Propagation: Seed - sow March in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 4 - 5 weeks at 20°c[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots plant them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in early spring. Make sure that each portion has at least one growing bud[2][K].
Cuttings during the growing season. Very easy[3].
Cultivation: Prefers a light well-drained loam with added leafmold[4][5]. Requires a sheltered position[5].
This species is commonly cultivated as a vegetable in China[6].
The plant can be invasive[5], the stems sprawling along the ground and rooting as they go[K].
Range: E. Asia - S. China, Japan, India.
Habitat: Partly shaded grassy places, cultivated fields and roadsides usually in moist places all over Japan[7][8].
Edibility: Leaves, flowers and young shoots - raw or cooked[6][9][10]. Chopped finely and added to salads or cooked as a potherb[11]. A sweet taste with a mucilaginous texture[12].
Medicinal: The leaves are depurative, diuretic and febrifuge[13][8]. Used as a throat gargle to relieve sore throats and tonsilitis[13][14].
A decoction of the dried plant is used to treat bleeding, diarrhoea, fever etc[15].
Extracts of the plant show antibacterial activity[15].
Usage: A bright blue dye is obtained from the petals[16].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1986.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.