| Home | > | List of families | > | Commelinaceae | > | Commelina | > | aspera |
| Synonyms: |
Commelina aspera Benth. var. firma C.B. Clarke Commelina firma (C.B. Clarke) Rendle Cyanotis hirsuta Baker |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Sparsely branched annual herb with decumbent, ascending or erect stems up to c. 30 cm tall. Leaves mostly clustered at the ends of shoots, sessile, linear-oblong to oblong elliptic, 3-13 cm long, pubescence variable but often more or less pilose on both surfaces. Inflorescences in clusters at the ends of main and lateral shoots. Spathes, up to 2 cm long, partly fused. Petals orange or pale apricot to white, 4.5-4.8 mm wide with a mauve claw 2-2.8 mm long. Capsules 3-locular, obovoid, up to 5 mm long, pale yellow. |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | aspera: rough |
| Habitat: | In woodland, grassland, on roadside banks and in shallow soils in rock crevices. |
| Altitude range: (metres) | |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | Widespread from Ghana to Uganda and Tanzania and South to Botswana and Namibia. |
| Zimbabwe distribution: | N,W,C |
| Growth form(s): | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 294. Faden, R. (2012). Commelinaceae Flora of Tropical East Africa Pages 236 - 237. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 86. Moriarty, A. (1975). Wild Flowers of Malawi Purnell & sons Cape Town. Pages 37 - 38. as Commelina aspera (Includes a picture). Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 117. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 82. |
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