COMMELINACEAE

Commelina benghalensis

Commelina forsskalaei

Murdannia lanuginosa

Cyanotis

FAMILY OF THE WEEK:COMMELINACEAE
It is a monocot family.
In India 10 genera and 76 species found in southern and western India and tropical eastern Himalayas.
Vegetative characters:
Annual or perennial succulent herbs with knotted stems. Occasionally twinning herbs.
Roots are fibrous; sometime much thicker and tuberous.
Leaves alternate, entire,ovate lanceolate or linear,parallel veined and usually with a closed basal membranous sheath. Calcium oxalate crystals are often present in the tissues.
Inflorescence and flowers:
Usually helicoid cyme arising in the axil of foliage leaf or of a spathe like boat shaped bract.
Flowers usually bisexual, more or less irregular trimerous and hypogynous. Perianth is distinctly biseriate. The three outer tepals are sepal like herbaceous and green, often persistent and usually free or sometimes connate below. The inner three are petal like, white or blue, macrescent equal or unequal free or rarely united into a slender tube (Cyanotis)
Androecium: Basically six stamens in two alternate and trimerous whorls opposite the perianth segments. The filaments are usually free and often dissimilar.
Gynoecium: is tricarpellary and syncarpous with a superior and trilocular ovary. Style is one and stigma is capitate or threefid.
Fruit is usually loculicidal capsule.
Seeds are mostly muricate, ridged or reticulate.
Bright petals of the flower favors insect pollination.
Fruits are distributed by animals and birds.
Examples:
Commelina Cyanotis Pollia Murdania Floscopa Tonningia Belosynapsis