Practical
Plants

Commelina virginica

Virginia Day-Flower

an annual or perennial member of the Commelina genus in the family Commelinaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual, perennial
Height
1.2 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Tubers - cooked. Rich in starch, but with a fairly bland flavour. Edible leaves[2].

Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Root

Environment

Range
Southern N. America. Naturalized in Europe in S. Italy[8].
Habitat
Rich woods, thickets and clearings[7].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow March in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 4 - 5 weeks at 20°c[3]. 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[111, K]. Cuttings during the growing season. Very easy[4].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Prefers a light fairly dry well-drained loam with added leafmold[6]. Prefers a sunny position with some shelter[3]. Plants are not very winter hardy in Britain, the roots are best dug up in autumn and stored like dahlias in a cool frost free place[1]. When grown in a light well-drained soil and mulched well, the roots usually survive the winter outdoors. The roots of this plant do not seem to be tuberous, the plant seems to be more like an annual[K].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

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  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

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  3. Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  4. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩

  5. Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm

  6. Grey. C. H. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate. 1938-00-00

    ↩

  7. Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950-00-00

    ↩

  8. ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964-00-00

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