Description:

• Perennials or annuals, often somewhat succulent; the perennials of diverse habits, sometimes rhizomatous or stoloniferous, very rarely forming a small bulb; roots adventitious, fibrous, thin or swollen
• Leaves basal and/or cauline, distichous or spirally arranged, with a basal, usually closed sheath enveloping stem, often ciliate at mouth; blade simple, entire, often petiolate
• Inflorescence terminal, terminal and axillary or rarely all axillary, composed of cymes which may be few, or many and aggregated into thyrses; sometimes subtended by or enclosed in spathaceous bracts
• Flowers bisexual or bisexual and male, occasionally cleistogamous, regular or irregular
• Sepals 3, free or united, usually ± equal and sepaline, occasionally petaline, persistent
• Petals 3, free or united, equal or unequal, petaline, deliquescent
• Stamens 3 + 3, all fertile or some modified into staminodes and bearing variously shaped antherodes, or 0, hypogynous or united with corolla; filaments glabrous or bearded; anthers basifixed, dorsifixed or versatile, opening with longitudinal slits or rarely by basal or apical pores
• Ovary superior, 2- or 3-locular with 1-many axile ovules in each locule; ovules uniseriate or biseriate; style simple, usually slender; stigma apical, simple or rarely 3-lobed, small or capitate, rarely enlarged
• Fruit a 2- or 3-valved capsule, rarely indehiscent or a berry
• Seeds 1-many per cell, hilum dot-like or elongate, embryotega (lid-like thickening in seed coat becoming detached on germination) circular, dorsal to lateral, rarely terminal

Classification Notes:

• Only subfamily Commelinoideae occurs in the region, with two tribes: Commelineae and Tradescantieae

Nomenclature:

• Commelinaceae
  • Brown: 268 (1810)
  • Clarke: 7 (1897)
  • Clarke: 25 (1901)
  • Brückner: 1 (1926)
  • Brückner: 159 (1930)
  • Brenan: 349 (1966)
  • Brenan: 22 (1968)
  • Schreiber: 1 (1967)
  • Faden: 381 (1985)
  • Obermeyer & Faden: 23 (1985)
  • Faden & Hunt: 19 (1991)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Genera ± 40, species ± 650, cosmopolitan in warm regions, a few of them widespread weeds
• Southern Africa: Genera 7, species 40

References:

• BRENAN, J.P.M. 1966. The classification of Commelinaceae. Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany 59
• BRENAN, J.P.M. 1968. Commelinaceae. Flora tropical west Africa edn 2, 3
• BROWN, R. 1810. Commelinaceae. Prodromus florae Novae-Hollandiae. J. Johnson & Co., London
• BRÜCKNER, G. 1926. Beiträge zur Anatomie, Morphologie und Systematik der Commelinaceae. Botanische Jahrbücher 61. Beiblatt 137
• BRÜCKNER, G. 1930. Commelinaceae. Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, edn 2, 15a
• CLARKE, C.B. 1897. Commelinaceae. Flora capensis 7
• CLARKE, C.B. 1901. Commelinaceae. Flora of tropical Africa 8
• FADEN, R.B. 1985. Commelinaceae. In R.M.T. Dahlgren, H.T. Clifford & P.F. Yeo, The families of the monocotyledons. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
• FADEN, R.B. & HUNT, D.R. 1991. The classification of the Commelinaceae. Taxon 40
• OBERMEYER, A.A. & FADEN, R.B. 1985. Commelinaceae. Flora of southern Africa 4
• SCHREIBER, A. 1967. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 157

Resources:

• Classification of Commelinaceae
• Key to Commelinaceae genera

• Commelinaceae genera: