Stalking the Wild Dayflower

Commelina species also provide delightful greens. Use the leaves, stems and flower parts of the tender young plants. The crisp plants have a pleasant distinctive flavor. Clip off the stems above ground. Chop them up, and add them raw to salads, soups, stews, and sauteed vegetable dishes. The greens need only about 10 minutes of cooking. Unlike most wild greens, these greens do not become bitter with age. On older plants the stems become tough, but the leaves usually remain tender. Commelina blooms in the fall as well as the spring and summer. Dayflowers grow in a variety of habitats. Look for them on stream banks, in rich woods, or as weeds in gardens and along roadsides. (excerpts taken from Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest by Delena Tull)