Commelina erecta angustifolia
| Commelina erecta | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| 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 erecta angustifolia (common name: whitemouth 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].
This species is not very winter hardy, the roots are best dug up in autumn and stored like dahlias in a cool frost free place being planted out in spring[3]. When grown in a light well-drained soil and mulched well, the roots usually survive the winter outdoors[5].
This plant is possibly no more than a narrow-leafed form of the highly variable C. erecta[3].
Range: Southern N. America.
Habitat: Pinelands, sand dunes and fields[6].
Edibility: Tubers - cooked. Rich in starch[7][8][9], but with a fairly bland flavour.
Medicinal: Salve. The mucilaginous sap is used to ease skin irritations[6][10].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: C. angustifolia. Michx.
Links
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Small, John. Manual of the Southeastern Flora. Blackburn Press, 2004.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.