This is the plant whose folkname I've borrowed for the 2013 mystery in the China Bayles series. You probably recognize it, for it grows across most of the United States, east of the Rockies. The name of the genus is Commelina, and many of the 170+ species are used as food, medicine, dyes, animal fodder, and in the production of paper.
A dye plant? The blue pigment on the kimono in this charming print by an 18th century Japanese woodblock artist is believed to be made from the petals of the Commelina communis.
You may know this plant by the common name, dayflower: the bloom appears in the morning and is gone by the day's end. It also goes by the interesting--and rather ironic--name widow's tears. If you squeeze the spaethe (the bract that surrounds the flower stalk), a drop or two of tear-like muscilaginous sap will ooze out. And since the blossom fades quickly, some people are reminded of the fast-disappearing tears of a widow who doesn't . . . well, grieve all that much.The Commelinas can be invasive if they find a spot they like--rich soil, a little dampish. But they thrive even in poor soil, and their blue blossoms are a welcome spot of color in the woodland garden along our creek in the Texas Hill Country. You'll find a good discussion of the pros and cons of this plant at Dave's Garden.
To complicate matters, there's another Widow's tears, in the Tradescantia family. More later about that one....
Is Widow's tears (Commelina) growing in your garden? Love it? Hate it?