Creeping Dayflower

Commelina diffusa

Found in mudflats, alluvial margins, bottomlands, also fields and disturbed ground. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

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

Profile 82%

Height: About 1 foot
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

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Commelina diffusa — bloom photograph — (c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph

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At a glance

Bloom: June to October
Fruiting season: Summer to fall

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Recorded in 42 Virginia counties.

Habitats

Floodplain and bottomland forests; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Commelina

Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

6BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

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

Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove

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
Growth rate: Rapid
Growth habit: Spreads by runners
Foliage color: Yellow-green
Fruit begins: Summer
Fruit ends: Fall

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

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “June to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Blue” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Foliage color · “Yellow-green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth habit · “Spreads by runners” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Height · “About 1 foot” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
primary_flower_color · “blue” · USDA PLANTS
Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Climbing Dayflower

Conservation status

Virginia rank	SNA
Global rank	G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source