Commelina communis Roxb.

Commelina communis Roxb. Commelina communis Roxb. (Roxbugh in Carey & Wallich 1820: 175), nom. not effectively published, non C. communis L. Syn. nov. Accepted species Commelina paludosa Blume. Remarks This name was never actually published since Roxburgh cites it as “ C. communis. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. Willd. 1. 249.”, making it clear he was applying Linnaeus’s name, regardless of whether it was correctly applied or not. Commelina communis L. does not occur in India and seems to represent a misapplication to the species known as C. paludosa Blume, which Clarke (1881) treated as a synonym of his interpretation of C. obliqua (which equates to our current use of C. robusta). Commelina paludosa is morphologically very similar to the Neotropical C. scabrata but can be differentiated by its scrambling habit, sessile and free lower sepals, lilac or white paired petals with limb base cordate, antherode lobes oblanceolate to spathulate, capsules widely obovoid, smooth and 3-valved, each locule 1-seeded, and seeds with smooth testa.