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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

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Arkansas.

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual
Bloom
September to October

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

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
Joseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874), a neighboring state.The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

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.

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. 69 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (58)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

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 eating Murdannia in Arkansas

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Birds that eat Murdannia 3

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

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
Also known as

Aneilema keisak; Marsh Dayflower

Conservation status

Arkansas rankSNA
Global rankGNR
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources