Why did Linnaeus name the dayflower, Commelina?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

May 17, 2002

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The dayflower (Commelina communis Linnaeus) [com me li' na com mun' is] is a small forb from Asia. The flowers are generally blue and irregular; two petals are showy, the third is pale, small, and seldom noticed. Each flower lasts only one day. The plant has become naturalized over much of the temperate zones.

Dutch Garden, from "De Nederlandze Hesperides" by Jan Commelin, Published 1676 Giclee Print Dutch School View Larger
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Jan Commelin was a doctor and director of botany at the Hortus Medicus (Medical Garden) in Amsterdam. During his directorship, Commelin classified plants sent back from the Dutch East India Company and compiled the Horti Medici Amstelodamensis.

When Commelin died his nephew, Kaspar Commelin took over his work and completed the volumes of the Horti. The two men described in detail 229 species from Africa, 97 species from the Americas, and 41 species from Asia.

It is said that Linnaeus spent time studying the collection of plants at Hortus Medicus. He must have read the Horti Medici and probably viewed many of the plants brought under cultivation by the Commelins.

Carl Von Linne Known as Linnaeus Swedish Naturalist and Botanist
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Gray's Manual of Botany (reprint of 1950 edition) states that when Linnaeus established the genus, Commelina, it was (Dedicated to the early Dutch botanists, Commelin, on account of the 2 showy petals and 1 less conspicuous petal, Linnaeus referring to the three botanists of that name, two of whom, Jan, 1629-1692, and Kaspar, 1667-1731, were conspicuous botanists, while the third "died before accomplishing anything in Botany".)

Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam (originally Hortus Medicus) is one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. To view the place where Jan and Kaspar worked, click on the link:

http://www.hortus-botanicus.nl/

The Connecticut Botanical Society has a beautiful photograph of Commelina communis taken by Eleanor S. Saulys. To view the photograph, click on the link:

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/commelinacomm.html

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