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| Commelina diffusa (COMMELINACEAE); Scurvy weed |
| Image: Flowers and foliage | |
|  | | Commelina cyanea - foliage & flower - Derek Boddington © 2003 |
This ubiquitous scrambler is clearly weedy in habit, it invades sunny creek edges that are exposed because of a lack of covering shade trees. In historical terms it is not normal for our SEQ waterways to let sun onto the creek. The natural state is deep shade produced by a large range of trees including Waterhousea, Black Bean, Hard Quondong, Sandpaper and other Figs, E. microcorys, Neolitsea, Kamalas (red and green), Cryptocaryas, Jagera, Alphitonia, Cheese Trees, Flindersia and so on. Through these the canopy would be thickened by vines including Wonga, Native Grape, Embelia, Pearl Vine, Ripogonums, Round Leaf Vine, and others.
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| Image: Flowers and leaf |  |
If Commelina is running wild, it's better to leave it and Smart Weed (Persicaria spp.) than remove it. The strategy is to get the trees established to shade the creek, and the weedy natives like Commelina will disappear.
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| References and Resources | |
 | True friends, False Enemies - There are a lot of plants, many of them extremely important, that are in danger of being pulled as weeds because they don't have the classic "native plant" look, or closely resemble some well known weeds.
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