Taxonomic history:
1753: Linnaeus described this species as Commelina cristata in Species Plantarum, 1st ed., p. 42.
today: The current name for this species is Cyanotis cristata (L.) D. Don
original Latin diagnosis
Commelina corollis aequalibus, involucris spicatim imbricatis.
English translation
Commelina with corollas equal; [and] with involucres in a spike-like way imbricate.
| Commelina | Commelina |
| with corollas | corollis - ablative plural of first declension feminine noun corolla, -ae |
| equal; | aequalibus - ablative plural feminine of group B adjective aequalis, -is, -e; modifies corollis |
| [and] | [added for smoother reading] |
| with involucres | involucris - ablative plural of second declension neuter noun involucrum, -i |
| in a spike-like way | spicatim - adverb; modifies imbricatis |
| imbricate. | imbricatis - ablative plural neuter of group A adjective imbricatus, -a, -um; modifies involucris |