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Tradescantia
Also called Spiderworts, Old Gossip, Spider Lily, Wandering Dude, Wandering Jew
Spiderworts are a genus of about 85 species of herbaceous perennials from the Americas, grown as hardy garden perennials or tropical houseplants. Grow them in good light and let them spread, as many species are vigorous and can become weedy.
Tradescantia () is a genus of 85 species of herbaceous perennial wildflowers in the family Commelinaceae, native to the Americas from southern Canada to northern Argentina, including the West Indies. Members of the genus are known by many common names, including inchplant, wandering jew, wandering dude, spiderwort, dayflower and trad.
Tradescantia grow 30–60 cm tall (1–2 ft), and are commonly found individually or in clumps in wooded areas and open fields. They were introduced into Europe as ornamental plants in the 17th century and are now grown in many parts of the world. Some species have become naturalized in regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, and on some oceanic islands.
Spiderworts are popular in Europe and North America as ornamental plants. Temperate species are grown as hardy garden perennials, while tropical species such as T. zebrina and T. spathacea are used as house plants. Their popularity and easy spreading nature has led to some species being considered serious weeds in certain places (see below).
Most cold-hardy garden plants belong to the Andersoniana Group (often referred to with the invalid name Tradescantia × andersoniana). This is a group of interspecific hybrids developed from Tradescantia virginiana, T. ohiensis, and T. subaspera, which have overlapping ranges within continental North America. These plants are clump-forming herbaceous perennials, with individual cultivars mainly differing in flower colour.
Some members of the genus Tradescantia may cause allergic reactions in pets (especially cats and dogs) characterised by red, itchy skin. Notable culprits include T. albiflora (scurvy weed), T. spathacea (Moses in the cradle), and T. pallida (purple heart).
The first species described, the Virginia spiderwort, T. virginiana, is native to the eastern United States from Maine to Alabama, and Canada in southern Ontario . Virginia spiderwort was introduced to Europe in 1629, where it is cultivated as a garden flower .
Native Americans used T. virginiana to treat a number of conditions, including stomachache. It was also used as a food source. The cells of the stamen hairs of some Tradescantia are colored blue, but when exposed to sources of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays or pollutants like sulphur dioxide from industries, the cells mutate and change color to pink; they are one of the few tissues known to serve as an effective bioassay for ambient radiation levels.
Longbract spiderwort · Small-leaf spiderwort · Texas spiderwort · Prairie spiderwort · Bluejacket · Purple queen · Wooly Spiderwort · Boatlily · Zigzag spiderwort · Virginia spiderwort · Inchplant
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tradescantia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
