Commelina diffusa
Burm. f.
Wandering Jew, Spreading Dayflower
(c) lougarou, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by lougarou
(c) Nathan Aaron, some rights reserved (CC BY)
(c) Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Saryu Mae 前 朝琉
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Vegetable
The young leaf tips are cooked and eaten, commonly stewed with pork or used in soups.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It grows in moist places. It can grow in shady places. It occurs from sea level up to about 1600 m altitude in the tropics. In Ethiopia it grows between 500-2,400 m above sea level. In Yunnan.
Africa, American Samoa, Andaman Is., Angola, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, CAR, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo DR, Congo R., Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Guam, Guatemala, French Guiana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Laos, Malaysia, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Niue, North America, Pacific, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South America, Southern Africa, St Helena, St Lucia, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A small leafed, straggling herb, with blue flowers. It continues to grow from year to year. It can grow to 1 m long. The stems are weak. The stem is fleshy, and it roots at the nodes. The leaves are alternate and sword shaped. They are 4-10 cm long. They have short stalks and a stem clasping sheath. The flowers are blue and 2.5-3 cm across. One of the 3 petals is smaller than the others. The seeds have fine patterns on one side. They are angular and about 2 mm long.
How to Grow
It grows easily from stem pieces. It prefers poorly drained soil, in open sunny positions, but can grow quite well in shady places. Plants can also be grown from seed.
Medicinal Uses
Within China, Commelina diffusa is used as a medicinal herb with febrifugal and diuretic effects. A dye is also obtained from the juice of the petals for use in painting. Within Hawaii, "honohono grass" was used as medicine to aid with deep cuts. While other Hawaiian herbs just get superficial cuts, honohono grass is an herb to aid with deeper troubling issues. According to a work by Bruce French published on papuaweb.org, the young leaf tips are cooked and eaten in New Guinea. (See page 80.)
Other Uses
The juice of the petals can be used as a dye for painting.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Commelina diffusa, sometimes known as the climbing dayflower or spreading dayflower, is a pantropical herbaceous plant in the dayflower family. It has been introduced to the southeastern United States where it is most common in wet disturbed soils. There are two recognised varieties, one being the type and the other being C. diffusa var. gigas, which is native to Asia and has been introduced to Florida. It flowers from spring to fall and is most common in disturbed situations, moist places and forests. In China the plant is used medicinally as a febrifuge and a diuretic. A blue dye is also extracted from the flower for paints. In the Hawaiian Islands, it is known as "honohono grass", although it is technically not a grass. "Honohono" refers to the alternating structure of the leaves. At least one publication lists it as an edible plant in New Guinea.
Other Information
In Papua New Guinea it is declining in importance as a cultivated crop but still harvested from the wild in a number of places. It is sold in local markets.
Notes
There are about 230 Commelina species.
Names & Synonyms
Alikbangon, Awarang, Brambangan, Ekwangalele, Gandologi, Gatilang, Gewor lalakina, Gondo, Hombiyhaem, Jie jie cao, Kondo, Kondow, Kulkul-lasi, Kunchindo, Mau'utoga, Nuo niu pao, Ondos-do-mar, Pagei, Phak kab pi, Phak pab, Punyopujyu, Pup, Rumput aur, Sau rangi, Semprebiban-damalong, Trapoeraba, Welilo, Wetkyok, Zobut
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