Murdannia
Murdannia is a genus of annual or perennial monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Commelinaceae.
The genus is one of the largest in the family. They are most easily distinguished from other genera in the family by their three-lobed or spear-shaped antherodes. Also it is the only genus with staminodes opposite the petals.
Murdannia are found in tropical regions across the globe with extensions into warm temperate areas. Typically, Murdannia species are found in open areas in mesic soils. However, some are semi-aquatic, and a limited few are found in closed forest situations. Three species are naturalized in the United States.
The genus is named in honor of Murdan Ali, a plant collector who worked for John Forbes Royle and maintained the herbarium at Saharanpur, India. He was a munshi who took a keen interest in natural history and under the training of Falconer, Royle and Edgeworth had become a proficient botanist who compiled a vernacular flora of northern India and the Himalayas which was however never published.
; SpeciesMurdannia acutifolia Faden - New GuineaMurdannia allardii Brenan - Congo-Brazzaville, ZaïreMurdannia assamica Nampy & Ancy - AssamMurdannia audreyae Faden - Sri LankaMurdannia axillaris Brenan - Kenya, Zanzibar, PembaMurdannia blumei Brenan - Indian Subcontinent, Java, Myanmar, MalayaMurdannia bracteata J.K.Morton ex D.Y.Hong - southern China, Laos, Thailand, VietnamMurdannia brownii Nandikar & Gurav - western IndiaMurdannia burchellii – Bolivia, Venezuela, and north, northeast, and west-central BrazilMurdannia citrina D.Fang - Guangxi in ChinaMurdannia clandestina Faden - Peninsular MalaysiaMurdannia clarkeana Brenan - Central African Republic, Chad, KenyaMurdannia crocea Faden - India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, MyanmarMurdannia cryptantha Faden - New Guinea, Queensland, Northern Territory of AustraliaMurdannia dimorpha G.Brückn. - southern IndiaMurdannia dimorphoides Faden - Sri LankaMurdannia divergens G.Brückn. - southern China, Himalayas, Myanmar, VietnamMurdannia edulis Faden - southern China, Himalayas, Indochina, Java, Bali, Philippines, New GuineaMurdannia esculenta R.S.Rao & Kammathy - India, Sri LankaMurdannia fadeniana Nampy & Joby - Kerala State in IndiaMurdannia fasciata G.Brückn. - New GuineaMurdannia gardneri G.Brückn. - BrazilMurdannia gigantea G.Brückn. - Madagascar, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Queensland, Northern Territory, New South WalesMurdannia glauca G.Brückn. - India, Sri LankaMurdannia graminea G.Brückn. - Vietnam, Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales, Western AustraliaMurdannia hookeri G.Brückn. - Assam, southern ChinaMurdannia japonica Faden - China, Japan, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, BorneoMurdannia juncoides R.S.Rao & Kammathy - Kerala + Tamil Nadu in IndiaMurdannia kainantensis D.Y.Hong - southern ChinaMurdannia keisak Hand.-Mazz. - Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, Russia, Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal; naturalized in parts of United StatesMurdannia lanceolata Kammathy - India, Sri LankaMurdannia lanuginosa G.Brückn. - southern IndiaMurdannia loriformis R.S.Rao & Kammathy - China, Taiwan, Tibet, Ryukyu Islands, Bonin Islands, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Java, Philippines, New GuineaMurdannia macrocarpa D.Y.Hong - Yunnan, Guangdong, CambodiaMurdannia medica D.Y.Hong - Yunnan, Guangdong, Cambodia, Thailand, VietnamMurdannia nampyana – India Murdannia nudiflora Brenan - southern China, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Western Australia, Micronesia; naturalized in Hawaii, southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America, Sierra Leone, Congo-Brazzaville, Cook IslandsMurdannia paraguayensis G.Brückn. - Paraguay, BrazilMurdannia pauciflora G.Brückn. - southern IndiaMurdannia saddlepeakensis – Andaman IslandsMurdannia sahyadrica Ancy & Nampy - MaharashtraMurdannia satheeshiana Joby, Nisha & Unni - southern IndiaMurdannia schomburgkiana G.Brückn. - Guyana, BrazilMurdannia semifoliata G.Brückn. - BrazilMurdannia semiteres Santapau - Zaire, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Iran, Yemen, India, VietnamMurdannia sepalosa – Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, Zambia, and ZaïreMurdannia simplex Brenan - sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, Indian Subcontinent, southern China, Indochina, QueenslandMurdannia spectabilis Faden - southern China, Indochina, PhilippinesMurdannia spirata G.Brückn. - southern China, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Java, Philippines; naturalized in Florida + SamoaMurdannia stenothyrsa Hand.-Mazz. - Sichuan, YunnanMurdannia striatipetala Faden - Sri LankaMurdannia stricta Brenan - Zaire, RwandaMurdannia tenuissima Brenan - tropical AfricaMurdannia triquetra G.Brückn. - southern China, Indochina, HimalayasMurdannia ugemugei R.B.Kamble, Somkuwar & Nandikar - IndiaMurdannia undulata D.Y.Hong - YunnanMurdannia vaginata G.Brückn. - southern China, Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Java, Philippines, Queensland, Northern TerritoryMurdannia versicolor G.Brückn. - India, Vietnam, PhilippinesMurdannia yunnanensis D.Y.Hong - YunnanMurdannia zeylanica G.Brückn. - India, Sri Lanka