Commelina eckloniana

Kunth · species

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Plantae/Tracheophyta/Liliopsida/Commelinales/Commelinaceae/Commelina

At a glance

Occurrence records276

Data sources8

Biological traits15

DNA specimens2

eDNA detections3

Sources8 archives

Databases and archives Commelina eckloniana's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation2 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility276 records↗

ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI3 eDNA detections↗

BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics2 specimens↗

Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗

CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗

PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype

On this page6 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements3 literature sources15 traits

Occurrence & distributionGBIF276 records

Environmental DNA1 datasets · 2 countries3 detections

DNA & barcodingBOLD2 specimens

Genome at a glanceCCDB2n = 52

01Narrative

Commelina eckloniana is an herbaceous plant in the dayflower family with a broad distribution in Central and East Africa. It ranges from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania in the east, west through Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Malawi, into the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. It is considered one of the most diverse species in Africa. Its distinctive characteristics include a fused spathe with sparse hairs, blue flowers with bilocular ovaries, and nearly square fruits containing four seeds that are roughly spherical. It currently contains five subspecies, and at times has been split into five separate species that mostly correspond to the currently recognised subspecies. However, some of the subspecies may be functioning as species, and further study is needed to resolve the question of species limits in this group. SubspeciesKew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families Commelina eckloniana subsp. claessensii (De Wild.) Faden - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda Commelina eckloniana subsp. critica (De Wild.) Faden - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi Commelina eckloniana subsp. echinosperma (K.Schum.) Faden - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia Commelina eckloniana subsp. eckloniana - Zimbabwe, South Africa, Eswatini Commelina eckloniana subsp. nairobiensis (Faden) Faden - Kenya Commelina eckloniana subsp. thikaensis Faden - Kenya

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesWCVPGIFTTRY

Size & morphology2

Plant height max0.6 m

Plant height min0.1 m

Life cycle & reproduction3

Life formperennial or subshrub

Life spanperennial

Raunkiær life formchamaephyte

Diet & foraging1

Parasiteindependent

Habitat & environment8

Aquaticterrestrial

Climateseasonally dry tropical

Climberself-supporting

Elevation max2 134 m

Elevation min120 m

Epiphyteterrestrial

Growth formherb

Woodinessnon-woody

Other traits1

Plant support typefree-standing

05DNA & barcoding2 specimens

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Commelina eckloniana has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

DNA specimens2

Marker genes1

eDNA detections3

Countries2

Marker genes sequenced

★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.

★trnL

plant barcode

06Genome at a glanceCCDB

The complete instruction manual Commelina eckloniana carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.

Chromosomes2n = 52 n = 26

Ploidydiploid inferred

Chromosome records26–522n range39median52mode2records

Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references

2n 261×CCDB · book-fedorov

CCDB · book-fedorov — Lewis W . H. 1964a

2n 521×CCDB · book-ipcn73-74

CCDB · book-ipcn73-74 — CHIMPHAMBA, B.C. 1973. Chromosome numbers in Malawian Commelinaceae. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 66: 303-306.

Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources

diploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale

PloiDB · genus-scale — chromEvol; reliability=1.000 ↗

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type276 records

Wild obs. + sensor118

Museum / vouchered158

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO780 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy97% within 1 km

≤100 m 64≤1 km 13≤10 km 2

79 georeferenced · 39 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor118

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy0% within 1 km

≤10 km 2

2 georeferenced · 156 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence158

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions6 of 11 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
Pretoria, ZA	97
Durban, ZA	26
LNBG$location not on record	8
Kew, GB	5
MeiseBGlocation not on record	5
Saint Louis, US	2
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record	2
University of Johannesburglocation not on record	1
Vancouver, CA	1
Zürich, CH	1
LDlocation not on record	1

11 institutions · 149 of 158 vouchered records shown · 8 without an institution code

09Environmental DNA3 detections

Where the DNA of Commelina eckloniana was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.

Signal

Detections DNA found3

Studies independent surveys1

Countries2

Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections

Where its DNA was found

0 of 3 detections have coordinates

Open the map2 countries0

How strong is each trace?

DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.

Modelled climatemodelled

−15°Ctemperature across detection sites+40°C

Temperature median25.9 °C 24.8–25.9

Seasonal swing summer↔winter2.30 °C

Max temp (day)31.0 °C 29.6–31.0

Min temp (night)20.3 °C 19.5–20.3

Precipitation46.0 mm/mo 46.0–94.2

Air humidity53.2 % 53.2–57.9

Moisture balance-112 mm/mo -112–-70.5

Vapour deficit1,563 Pa 1,320–1,563

Wind speed2.70 m/s 2.70–3.00

Cloud cover32.4 % 32.4–42.3

CHELSA 1981–2010, ~9 km grid, at location & month of 3 detection points · median with p10–p90 · reflects where sampling happened, not only the true niche

How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.

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