Flower for a Day

There haven't been many wildflowers I've seen on both sides of the continental divide; dandelions, common sunflower ... hmmm ... what else? Oh yeah. Asiatic Dayflower. I've seen that from Lake Michigan to southern California.

Asiatic Dayflower (Commelina communis), as its name so succinctly reveals, is a non-native from Asia, with flowers that last but a single day. What it doesn't tell us is how lovely these primarily blue flowers are, or that they are "primarily" blue rather than completely blue because they do have a third, rather insignificant lower white petal. But we'll get to that momentarily.

It's a member of the Spiderwort Family (Commelinaceae), prefers open habitats with a bit of moisture, and, depending upon where it is, blooms from the spring into the fall. It's a creeper with a reclining stem that gets up to three feet long. It often grows in colonies formed by rooting from the stem nodes. Thus the species name communis.

Each flower sticks out from the comfortable embrace of a heart-shaped enfolding leaf. It is only about 1/2" wide, with the two sky-blue petals, lower white petal, three sepals and six stamens hanging from the center like the forelegs of a praying mantis. (Looking at a photo of it and its two prominent blue petals, I am reminded of Topo Gigo, the little puppet mouse on the Ed Sullivan Show. The petals bring to mind mouse ears.)

The flowers remain open long enough for bees to drop in and do a little pollination, and then they close; usually by mid-day. If it's cloudy they live fast and loose, remaining open all day. After that the flowers collapse into a gelatinous mass (as I am known to do after a particularly bad day.) This gooey blue lump still has a bit of nectar mixed in, which is attractive to bees. The bees feeding on this nectar may yet rub a little pollen off on the pistil, which is still erect and able to be fertilized. (That was a little risqué, and I apologize.)

The flowers sparkle in bright sunlight. This is because there are clear cells scattered among the abundant blue cells, and these clear cells reflect the sunlight. It is thought that this is a clever Bright Lights; Big City lure to attract bees.

Also, the flowers are more moisture than not. Try crushing one between your fingers and see what you get.

Other species found in North America include Slender Dayflower (C. erecta), Virginia Dayflower (C. virginica) and Slender Dayflower (C. dianthifolia).

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