Commelinaceae
(Spiderwort Family)
Habit
- perennial herbs
Stems
- with
swollen nodes
Leaves
- spirally arranged with a closed
sheath
Inflorescence
-
cymose,
subtended by a
sheathing bract
(spathe--usually boat-shaped)
Flowers
-
perfect,
regular or
irregular
Sepals
- 3, usually
green
Petals
- 3, mostly distinct, usually blue or white, sometimes
clawed, all alike or 1 different color and reduced
Anthers
- mostly 6 (1-3), sometimes 3 are
staminodia with
cross-shaped
anther-sacs;
filaments with long
single-celled hairs (that may have use as indicator of pollution change colors from blue to pink.....)
Carpels
- 3;
ovary superior, with
axile placentation and many
ovules
Fruit
- a
capsule
Diversity
- 50 genera/600 species
Distribution
- tropics and subtropics
Economics
- some cultivated ornamentals: Zebrina; Rhoeo; Tradescantia.
Notes
-
Images
-
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