Asiatic Dayflower (Commelina communis)
Family: Spiderwort Family (Commelinaceae)
IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed
Found naturally in damp, open environments across much of eastern and southeastern Asia, the Asiatic Dayflower is named for its extremely short-lived flowers, which wither within only around 24 hours of blooming. Lacking the ability to produce nectar, the flowers of this species instead attract pollinators such as bees and hoverflies using three different floral structures; bright blue petals (which are produced in pairs, and protrude upwards,) pale yellow structures called staminodes (which resemble tiny yellow flowers but are actually underdeveloped pollen-lacking stamens that serve only to draw in pollinators) and three pale dangling true stamens, which are the only part of the flower that actually bares pollen. Asiatic Dayflower flowers are able to both produce pollen and take in the pollen of other members of their species to fertilize the ova within them, and upon being fertilized a flower will develop small, pale, oval-shaped fruits that develop separately to the plant's stamens, allowing them to continue to spread their own pollen; the entire plant dies in the autumn/fall of the year it germinated in, and as it does so it leaves its fruits behind to be carried away by animals, allowing the four small seeds within to germinate in the following summer. Within its native range (particularly the island of Honshu, Japan) the petals of this species have historically been collected and used to produce blue dye (which is achieved by wringing a "juice" from the petals containing the blue pigment Commelinin,) and today members of this species are often cultivated for this purpose. The cultivation of this species, both for ornamental purposes and to be harvested for its dye, has also allowed it to become established as an invasive species in parts of North America.
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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/52927-Commelina-communis
