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Scurvy Weed Commelina Cyanea Diffusa Seeds
Packet of 10+ home grown seeds!
There is currently a bit of dispute as to this fellas botanical name with Queensland no longer recognising Commelina cyanea anymore, now calling it Commelina diffusa.
Where as Victoria says Commelina diffusa is wrong and the accepted name is Commelina cyanea.
Before you email me I personally have no horse in that race myself so not really interested in arguing one way or the other…
I will say it’s a native to QLD, NSW, Victoria and it is very very often incorrectly called “Wandering Jew” or the just as offensive “Creeping Christian”.
Under these names it is very commonly persecuted as an imported weed when in fact the true Wandering jew and Creeping Christian plants are the imported Tradescantia species(syn. Zebrina sp.), normally Tradescantia fluminensis, Tradescantia pallida, Tradescantia spathacea or even the white flowering Tradescantia albiflora.
They do kinda sort of look similar, but they are completely different plants, completely different genus, at least one being a declared noxious weed.
One of the best common names for this fella is Scurvy weed, as that is what the European settlers called it back in the day.
The reason they did is because the high Vitamin C content prevented the dietary deficiency disease scurvy which was super common in those days.
The whole plant except for the roots was eaten fresh or cooked, and it’s still a pretty popular plant among foragers today.
Some folks use it in smoothies, salads, or cooked like bean shoots in stirfries.
I personally just nibble a bit here and there when I come across it foraging in the scrub, and at home I chuck the odd handful in the pot when I am running low on green vegies.
It isn’t a staple of mine though as I have heaps of other options and I really like the look of it.
But it is very reliable and it tastes OK too, especially with a splash of Sesame oil.
It can be weedy, especially in cool moist shady boggy areas, but here where I am there are very few of them and the roos wipe them out before they can get a foot hold.
I wish it would grow feral at home as it’s pretty and a handy back-up vegetable, but yeah, they chew it down to ground level and even the bettongs and bandicoots dig up and eat the roots.
For this reason the only place it thrives is at the side of the house and at the back end of the greenhouse.
It dies out completely when left to the elements here unfortunately, but in cooler moister areas it can become the dominant ground cover at the detriment to other more delicate plant species.
I say it again for clarity, being a native it is not a declared or noxious weed ANYWHERE in Australia.
Most infestations of weedy wandering jew are NOT this native species, they are the kinda sort of similar looking imported pest species.
This fella holds the soil, feeds the bees, shades the soil, provides fodder for the critters, a bit of green vegies if you are so inclined, and it looks mighty pretty with the little blue butterfly shaped flowers.
At least it does to my eye?
Easy to grow in a nice sandy soil mix in partial shade.
I get pretty much 100% germination here after a month or so.
Grown by me and the Mrs organically, no chems, no nasties, no problems!!!
