Commelina communis var. communis f. ciliata ("Ketsuyukusa")

Japanese name: ケツユクサ （毛露草）
Scientific name: Commelina communis var. communis f. ciliata

[Overview]
An annual found along roadsides and in fields.
The stem creeps along the ground at the base and branches, spreading by producing roots from the nodes.
The upper part of the stem rises to a height of 20–50 cm.
The leaves are simple and alternate, ovate-lanceolate, 5–8 cm long and 1.5–2.5 cm wide, entire and hairless.
The leaf base wraps around the stem like a sheath, and its upper margin has long hairs.
From the leaf axils at the stem tips, opposite the leaves, it bears boat-shaped bracts folded in two, and a cyme inside them.
The bracts have many long white hairs.
The flowers emerge one at a time outside the bract, open early in the morning, and wither in the afternoon.
Of the 3 petals, 2 are large, broadly ovate, and a vivid blue to wisteria-blue that stands out well, while 1 is small, lanceolate and white.
There are 3 white sepals; the upper one is lanceolate and the lower two are ovate.
Of the 6 stamens, only the 2 that protrude long together with the style are fully developed.
The fruit is an oblong capsule that splits in two when ripe, releasing 4 seeds.
The seeds are semi-elliptical.

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