Commelinaceae

Commelinaceae
Tradescantia in flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Commelinales
Family:	Commelinaceae Mirb. (1804)
Genera
see text

Commelinaceae is a botanical name for a family of flowering plants, also known as the spiderwort family. The family has always been recognized by most taxonomists.

The APG II system of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system of 1998), also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Commelinales in the clade commelinids in the monocots. The family counts several hundred species of herbaceous plants. Many are cultivated as ornamentals. The stems of these plants are generally well-developed, and often swollen at the nodes. Flowers are often short-lived, lasting for a day or less.

Genera

The family is divided in two subfamilies, 40 genera and 652 species (as of August 2005):

• Commelinoideae: 38 genera and 640 species:
  • Aetheolirion
  • Amischotolpe
  • Aneilema: 65 species
  • Anthericopsis
  • Belosynapsis
    • Belosynapsis kewensis
  • Buforrestia
  • Callisia
  • Cochliostema
  • Coleotrype
  • Commelina: 170 species
    

    

    Commelina kurzii
  • Cyanotis: 50 species
    • Cyanotis somalensis, in eastern Africa
  • Dichorisandra
  • Dictyospermum
  • Elasis
  • Floscopa
  • Geogenanthus
  • Gibasis (Gibasis geniculata - Tahitian Bridal Veil)
  • Gibasoides
  • Matudanthus
  • Murdannia: 50 species
    

    

    Murdannia nudiflora
  • Palisota
  • Plowmanianthus
  • Pollia
  • Polyspatha
  • Pseudoparis
  • Rhopalephora
  • Sauvallea
  • Siderasis
  • Spatholirion
  • Stanfieldiella
  • Streptolirion
  • Thyrsanthemum
  • Tinantia
  • Tradescantia: 70 species. Includes the species formerly classified in the genera Campelia, Cymbispatha, Mandonia, Neomandonia, Neotreleasea, Rhoeo, Separotheca, Setcreasea, Treleasea and Zebrina.
  • Tricarpelema
  • Tripogandra
  • Weldenia
• Cartonematoideae: two genera and 12 species.
  • Cartonema
  • Triceratella, in Zimbabwe.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Commelinaceae

Wikispecies has information related to: Commelinaceae

External links

• Commelinaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval. Version: 9 March 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
• NCBI Taxonomy Browser
• links at CSDL

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