Commelina erecta

Commelina erecta, in Afrikaans the blouselblommetjie (little blue flower), is a spreading, sometimes erect perennial reaching 50 cm in height. The specific name, erecta, reflects the erect growth form.

The species distribution is along the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal coast and inland north of the Vaal River in Mpumalanga, northern Gauteng, North West and Limpopo. Beyond the border the species is found in the tropics to Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as in the Americas, Australia and Asia.

The habitat range in southern Africa is moist grassland, scrub veld and open woodland at altitudes from near sea level to 1530 m, often in sandy soil. The species, so widely distributed, is not considered to be threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Manning, 2009; Van Wyk and Malan, 1997; Pooley, 1998; Blundell, 1992; http://redlist.sanbi.org).