Taxonomic history:
1753: Linnaeus described this species as Commelina africana in Species Plantarum, 1st ed., p. 41.
today: The current name for this species is Commelina africana L.
original Latin diagnosis
Commelina corollis inaequalibus, foliis lanceolatis glabris obtusis, caule repente.
English translation
Commelina with corollas unequal; with leaf blades lanceolate, glabrous, [and] obtuse; [and] with the stem creeping.
| Commelina | Commelina |
| with corollas | corollis - ablative plural of first declension feminine noun corolla, -ae |
| unequal; | inaequalibus - ablative plural feminine of group B adjective inaequalis, -is, -e; modifies corollis |
| with leaf blades | foliis - ablative plural of second declension neuter noun folium, -i |
| lanceolate, | ovato-lanceolatis - ablative plural neuter of group A adjective lanceolatus, -a, -um; modifies foliis |
| glabrous, | glabris - ablative plural neuter of group A adjective glaber, glabra, glabrum; modifies foliis |
| [and] | [added for smoother reading] |
| obtuse; | obtusis - ablative plural neuter of group A adjective obtusus, -a, -um; modifies foliis? |
| [and] | [added for smoother reading] |
| with the stem | caule - ablative singular of third declension masculine noun caulis, caulis |
| creeping. | repente - ablative singular masculine of present active participle of third conjugation verb repo, repere, repsi, —; modifies caule |