The genus is one of the largest in the family. They are most easily distinguished from other genera in the family by their three-lobed or spear-shaped antherodes (i.e. non-functional anthers).[2] Also it is the only genus with staminodes (i.e. non-functional stamens) opposite the petals.[3]
Murdannia are found in tropical regions across the globe with extensions into warm temperate areas.[4] Typically, Murdannia species are found in open areas in mesic soils. However, some are semi-aquatic, and a limited few are found in closed forest situations. Three species are naturalized in the United States (Murdannia keisak, M. nudiflora and M. spirata).[5][6][7]
The genus is named in honor of Murdan Ali, a plant collector who worked for John Forbes Royle and maintained the herbarium at Saharanpur, India.[6][8] He was a munshi who took a keen interest in natural history and under the training of Falconer, Royle and Edgeworth had become a proficient botanist who compiled a vernacular flora of northern India and the Himalayas which was however never published.[9]
Murdannia keisak (Hassk.) Hand.-Mazz. - Japan, Korea, Ryukyu Islands, Russia (Amur + Primorye), Taiwan, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal; naturalized in parts of United States
Murdannia nudiflora (L.) Brenan - southern China, Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Western Australia, Micronesia; naturalized in Hawaii, southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, West Indies, northern South America, Sierra Leone, Congo-Brazzaville, Cook Islands
^Faden, Robert B. (1998), "Commelinaceae", in Kubitzki, Klaus (ed.), The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, vol. 4, Berlin: Springer, pp. 109–128, ISBN978-3-540-64061-5
^Evans, Timothy M.; Sytsma, Kenneth J.; Faden, Robert B.; Givnish, Thomas J. (2003), "Phylogenetic Relationships in the Commelinaceae: II. A Cladistic Analysis of rbcL Sequences and Morphology", Systematic Botany, 28 (2): 270–292, doi:10.1043/0363-6445-28.2.270 (inactive 1 November 2024){{citation}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
