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Scurvy weed Commelina cyanaea was so called because early mariners knew that if they ate this plant it would cure them of the terrible scurvy that made their teeth fall out. It supplied the vitamin C that they didn't get on long voyages. It has beautiful blue flowers.
A few similar-looking plants can be mistaken for it. In the photo on the right is the grass Oplismenus that can be seen at bottom left. Two others are plants in the same family Commelinaceae: the introduced weed trad, Tradescantia fluminensis, is shown at top centre, with the native Aneilema biflorum, which is common on our site and also has white flowers. It grows in shadier places than scurvy weed and the two are hard to tell apart unless they are in flower.
More photos from the web:
Leaves
Flowers
Fruit
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