Blue Commelina

Commelina sp. (most likely C. diffusa, otherwise C. lanceolata)

Description:

Commelina diffusa, commonly known as Blue Commelina and also Native Wandering Jew, is a perennial prostrate herb of the family Commelinaceae native to moist forests and woodlands of eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Native vs. Weedy Commelinas.... https://www.lfwseq.org.au/native-vs-weed... In southeast Queensland (SEQ) there are three species of Commelina that all have a similar looking small, but brilliant, blue, three-petalled flower. There are two native Commelinas, Blue Commelina (Commelina diffusa) and the Queensland Wandering Sailor (Commelina lanceolata). Then there is the introduced weed, Hairy Commelina (Commelina benghalensis). The sure-fire way to tell the natives apart from the weed is to have a close look at the flowers. Blue Commelina and Queensland Wandering Sailor have three petals of equal size. On Hairy Commelina, the upper two petals of the flower are the same size, with the lower petal being much less prominent. (Land for Wildlife website). I've also found another local species - Commelina cyanea, commonly known as Scurvy Weed.

Habitat:

Spotted along the Mt. Mathieson Trail, in a section of sclerophyll forest at Mt. Mathieson, Spicers Gap. This area forms part of Main Range National Park, and is included in the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. Massive fires have recently burnt through this region, although some sections of the park were spared. Evidence of these fires can be seen in the last two photos.

Notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commelina_... Commelina cyanea. http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au... Australian Commelinas https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetla... The Queensland government list a number of native Commelina species that occur in Main Range National Park. The endemicity of Commelina diffusa is listed as QAI : Not endemic to Australia - naturally occurs in Queensland, interstate and overseas. This is where I get confused, because so many sources seem to contradict one another. Native, endemic, naturally occurring, wtf?