Marsh Dewflower

Murdannia keisak

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), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Florida. 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

At a glance

Life cycle: Annual
Bloom: September to October

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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 Florida 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

Regional / representative. Shown: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia; representative pond ecosystem, a neighboring state.Georgia pond and emergent wetland, Robert 'Bob' Hynes, 1997. Public domain. Source record.

Regional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal swamps, Florida to Virginia; state not identified, a neighboring state.Loblolly bay in a coastal swamp, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. 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.

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 Florida. Shared habitat, not food. 189 animals.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Archilochus colubris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rusty Blackbird
Euphagus carolinus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Ammodramus caudacutus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Sandhill Crane
Grus canadensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Savannah Sparrow
Passerculus sandwichensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Scarlet Tanager
Piranga olivacea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Seaside Sparrow
Ammodramus maritimus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Short-eared Owl
Asio flammeus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Short-tailed Hawk
Buteo brachyurus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Stilt Sandpiper
Calidris himantopus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Surf Scoter
Melanitta perspicillata
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Swainson's Warbler
Limnothlypis swainsonii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Whooping Crane
Grus americana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wilson's Warbler
Wilsonia pusilla
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wood Thrush
Hylocichla mustelina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Worm-eating Warbler
Helmitheros vermivorum
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow Rail
Coturnicops noveboracensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Florida

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

—CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

—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

Florida rank	SNA
Global rank	GNR
FL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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