Murdannia sp. 'Bright Star' : disambiguation

Family: Commelinaceae ^{[1, 2]}

Genus: Murdannia ^{[1, 2]}
Species: [horticultural variety] ^[3]
Hybrid: Bright Star
Common names: –

updated: September 30, 2020

uploaded: June 2, 2020

The Murdannia 'Bright Star' hybrid and its inflorescence. This one is sold as Murdannia loriformis 'Bright Star', but as we will see in this article, that is not the case.

Hybrid information

Expert on Commelinaceae Erica Jane^[3], said at first that this plant was a cultivar of Murdannia edulis (edulis means edible). This cultivar was recently discussed by the Indian botanist and expert on Commelinaceae Mayur Nandikar. After a conversation we've had he said that it looks more similar to Murdannia japonica (see photos below). But because the flowers of M. japonica have blue hairs surrounding the anthers, and Murdannia 'Bright Star' has white hairs surrounding the anthers, he said that the most possible scenario - until we are able to find the parentage of this cultivar - is that it is a horticultural variety^[4].

Images below from the involved species: Murdannia edulis, Murdannia loriformis, Murdannia japonica are providing a clearer view on this subject.

Murdannia sp. 'Bright Star' hybrid disambiguation (with photos)

Flower of Murdannia edulis in situ (India). Photo credits: J. M. Garg

Murdannia loriformis flowers, inflorescence, in situ (India). Photo credits: Vinayaraj

Murdannia japonica flower. Photo provided by Mayur Nandikar.

Murdannia japonica: this is the true Murdannia japonica botanical species and its inflorescence.

Murdannia sp. 'Bright Star'. Closeup on the flowers.

References
1. Flora Do Brasil 2020: genus Murdannia
2. POWO: genus Murdannia
3. Expert and Commelinaceae collector: Erica Jane
4. Botanist and expert on Indian Commelinaceae: Mayur Nandikar
. murdannia loriformis bright star, edulis, japonica, disambiguation