Commelina dianthifolia
| Commelina dianthifolia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Commelina dianthifolia (common name: birdbill dayflower)
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]. Succeeds in an ordinary, reasonably moist soil in a sunny position with some shelter[1].
Plants are hardy to about -10°c if the roots are protected from freezing[5]. It is probably best to dig up the roots in autumn and store them like dahlias in a cool frost free place[3]. When grown in a light well-drained soil and mulched well, the roots usually survive the winter outdoors[6].
This species is closely related to C. tuberosa[3].
The flowers are very ephemeral, individual flowers only living for a few hours[7].
Range: South-western N. America.
Habitat: Rocky soils in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico[8].
Edibility: The following use is for the closely related C. tuberosa, but is also probably appropriate for this species[K].
Tubers - cooked. Rich in starch[9][10], but with a fairly bland flavour.
Medicinal: An infusion of the plant is used as an aphrodisiac[11] and as a strengthener for weakened patients with tuberculosis[12].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Flora of North America.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.