Plant Profile: Murdannia nudiflora

Doveweed (Commelinaceae), a sprawling summer annual belonging to the spiderwort family, often creates a thick mat on the ground. This weed thrives in hot, humid conditions, with most seedlings sprouting between late May and August. After flowering, the plants typically die off following the first frost. In their early stages, doveweed can be mistaken for grass due to its appearance. The stems are fleshy, trailing, and capable of rooting at the nodes. Doveweed reproduces solely through seeds, allowing it to generate multiple generations within a single growing season. Infestations usually start in areas like drainage ditches or low-lying spots where water accumulates. Controlling doveweed can be quite challenging. A related species, marsh dayflower (Murdannia keisak), is less prevalent but inhabits similar environments. Marsh dayflower is generally larger and more robust than doveweed, and its sepals are comparable in length to its petals, unlike doveweed, where the sepals are shorter. There are few herbicides effective against this weed.