Commelinaceae
Commelinaceae Mirb., Hist. Nat. Pl. 8: 177. 1804. 'Spiderwort Family'
Characteristic Features:
Mostly perennial herbs with succulent stems and swollen nodes
Leaves with closed basal sheath
Flowers trimerous, bisexual, dichlamydeous, hypogynous, arising in the axil of spathaceous bracts
Corolla ephemeral, stamens hairy with 3-celled glandular microhairs
Ovary superior, trilocular
Diversity:
World- 41 genera 728 species (The Plant List 2013); 41 genera, 731 species (Christenhusz & Byng 2016); 40 genera, 640 species (Mabberely 2017); 41 genera, 744 species (CoL 2021)
India - 14 genera 90 species (Karthikeyan 2000); 15 genera, 103 species (BSI, 2021)
Indian Himalaya- 13 genera, 52 species (Singh et al. 2019)
Uttarakhand - 10 genera 26 species (Uniyal et al. 2007)
General Characters:
Commelinaceae in POWO 2021 (Plants of the World Online)
Commelinaceae in Wikipedia
Systematic Position of the Family in Different Systems of Classifications:
Systematic position in 2-Superkingdom, 7-Kingdom classification of Ruggiero et al. (2015)
Super Kingdom- Eukaryota, Kingdom- Plantae, Subkingdom- Viridiplantae, Infrakingdom- Streptophyta, Superphylum- Embryophyta, Phylum- Tracheophyta, Subphylum- Spermatophytina, Superclass- Angiospermae, Class- Magnoliopsida, Superorder-Lilianae, Order- Commelinales
Bentham & Hooker (1862-83)
Class : Monocotyledons
Series : Coronarieae
Engler & Prantl (1887-1915)
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Embryophyta Siphonogama
Subdivision: Angiospermae
Class : Monocotyledoneae
Order : Farinosae
Hutchinson (1973)
Phylum : Angiospermae
Subphylum: Monocotyledones
Division : Calyciferae
Order : Commelinales
Cronquist (1988)
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Subclass : Commelinidae
Order : Commelinidales
Thorne & Reveal (2007)
Class : Magnoliopsida
Subclass : Commelinidae
Super Order: Commelinanae
Order : Commelinales
Takhtajan (2009)
Phylum : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Subclass : Commelinidae
Super Order: Commelinanae
Order : Commelinales
Reveal (2012)
Class : Equisetopsida
Subclass : Magnoliidae
Super Order: Lilianae
Order : Commelinales
Suborder : Commelinineae
APG-IV (2016)
Clade : Angiosperms
Clade : Monocots
Clade : Commelinids
Order : Commelinales
Shipunov (2020)
Class : Angiospermae
Subclass : Liliidae
Order : Zingiberales
Suborder : Commelinineae
Genera & species in Pantnagar
To see larger images please click on the name
~~~Wild Flora~~~
***Cultivated Flora***
Tradescantia pallida (Rose) D.R.Hunt.
Vernacular name: Purple Heart, Purple Queen
Nativity:Mexico (POWO, 2019)
Common Characteristics: Herb, succulent. Leaves purplish- violet, spirally arranged, lancolate- oblong. Flower subsessile, terminal, violet.
Flowering period: January to April
Propagation Methods: Propagated by stem cuttings (Dave’s Garden)
Photographed @ Kasturba Bhawan
Tradescantia spathacea Sw.
Vernacular name: Oyster plant, Boat plant
Nativity: South Mexico to Guatemala (POWO, 2019)
Common Characteristics: Perennial herb with erect stem. Leaf blade purplish in colour abaxially, dark green adaxially.
Flowering period: January to April
Propagation Methods: Propagated by stem cuttings and by seeds (Dave’s Garden)
Photographed @ Garden Section