Marsh Dewflower

Murdannia keisak

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in stream banks, canals, ditches, freshwater marshes (tidal and non-tidal), swamp forests, wet areas in bottomlands, wet disturbed places. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

-85

Severe harm

Not native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 65%

Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Wet to standing water

Murdannia keisak — bloom photograph — Milo Pyne. USDA SCS. 1991. Southern wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. South National Technical Center, Fort Worth. Provided by USDA NRCS Wetland Science Institute (WSI). · Public domain · Original photograph

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Arkansas.

At a glance

Life cycle: Annual
Bloom: September to October

JFMAMJJASOND

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 13 Arkansas counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 6

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Swamps

Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 127 animals.

Acadian Flycatcher
Empidonax virescens
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Alder Flycatcher
Empidonax alnorum
Birds. 2 shared habitats
American Black Duck
Anas rubripes
Birds. 2 shared habitats
American Goldfinch
Carduelis tristis
Birds. 2 shared habitats
American Redstart
Setophaga ruticilla
Birds. 2 shared habitats
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Bell's Vireo
Vireo bellii
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Belted Kingfisher
Megaceryle alcyon
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Black-and-White Warbler
Mniotilta varia
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Blue Grosbeak
Passerina caerulea
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Blue Jay
Cyanocitta cristata
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Polioptila caerulea
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Brown Creeper
Certhia americana
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Brown-headed Cowbird
Molothrus ater
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Carolina Wren
Thryothorus ludovicianus
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Chimney Swift
Chaetura pelagica
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Cliff Swallow
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Common Nighthawk
Chordeiles minor
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Common Yellowthroat
Geothlypis trichas
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Double-crested Cormorant
Phalacrocorax auritus
Birds. 2 shared habitats

All wildlife of Arkansas

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

—CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Murdannia

Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Commelinaceae
Flower color: Blue, pink, purple or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “September to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Blue, pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil · “Frequent standing water” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Aneilema keisak; Marsh Dayflower

Conservation status

Arkansas rank	SNA
Global rank	GNR
AR status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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