Murdannia semiteres

Murdannia semiteres
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Commelinales
Family: Commelinaceae
Genus: Murdannia
Species:
M. semiteres
Binomial name
Murdannia semiteres
(Dalzell) Santapau
Synonyms[1]
  • Aneilema semiteres Dalzell
  • Dichoespermum semiteres (Dalzell) Hassk.

Murdannia semiteres, the panicled dewflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Commelinaceae. It is an annual erect herb with reddish branches that grows in the seasonally dry tropical biome.[2] The leaves are threadlike, folded, and smooth. It bears blue flowers in panicles with three free sepals. It is native to east-central Africa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Zambia), Yemen, Iran, India, and Vietnam.[1]

Distribution

Grows gregariously in habitats near permanently moist, exposed rocks and along stream banks in peninsular India.

Subspecies

Four subspecies are accepted.[1]

  • Murdannia semiteres subsp. brenanii Nandikar – Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia
  • Murdannia semiteres subsp. juncoides (Wight) Nandikar & Gurav – southwestern India
  • Murdannia semiteres subsp. sahyadrica (Ancy & Nampy) Nandikar & Gurav – western India (Maharashtra)
  • Murdannia semiteres subsp. semiteres – Yemen, Iran, India, and Vietnam

References

  1. ^ a b c "Murdannia semiteres (Dalzell) Santapau". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  2. ^ Pawar, K. and Gawali, S., MICRO MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MURDANNIA SPECIES.