TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL	previous taxon | next taxon Jepson Interchange (more information)
	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

COMMELINACEAE

SPIDERWORT FAMILY

Elizabeth McClintock

Annual, perennial herb, generally glabrous
Stem prostrate to erect or climbing; nodes often rooting
Leaves alternate, entire, simple, linear to ovate, with closed basal sheath or lower leaf clasping stem
Inflorescence: generally cyme or umbel, axillary
Flower generally bisexual, bilateral or radial, generally insect-pollinated; sepals 3, generally green; petals 3, blue, white, or sometimes rose or purple, generally ephemeral; stamens 6 (3 sometimes sterile), filaments generally slender, often hairy; ovary superior, chambers 3
Fruit: generally capsule
Seeds few
Genera in family: ± 50 genera, 700 species: especially tropical, subtropical; some cultivated as ornamental.