Tradescantia occidentalis (Britton) Smyth
Western spiderwort, prairie spiderwort
Spiderworts are named for the resemblance of their leaves to a squatting spider. The genus Tradescantia is named for John Tradescant, a gardener for Charles I of England. There are about 71 species.
Plants: Up to 2′ (60 cm) tall, with smooth stems with several joints.
Leaves: Long and narrow, with a whitish covering.
Flowers: Bright blue to rose or purple, about ¾″ (1.9 cm) in diameter, with three petals and six stamens with yellow anthers. Small hairs on the stamens of this species turn from blue to pink in the presence of ioniizing radiation, as a result of mutation, making them a natural “litmus test” for radiation.
Fruits: Rounded capsules with up to six oval dark gray seeds. The seeds are ovoid too, with a groove on one side and a hole on the other.
Habitats: Plains, prairies, disturbed sites.
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Similar species. |
Online References:
6/3/2009 · Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
5/23/2009 · West Fork of Oak Creek Trail, Arizona · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 23 cm) 
6/3/2009 · Zion National Park, Utah · ≈ 2 × 1½′ (64 × 47 cm) 
5/22/2009 · Slide Rock State Park, Sedona, Arizona · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 12 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Commelinidae | Dayflowers and spiderworts, and several others |
| Order | Commelinales | Includes dayflowers (spiderworts), bloodworts, water hyacinths, others |
| Family | Commelinaceae | Dayflower or spiderwort family |
| Genus | Tradescantia | After John Tradescant (1608-1662), English gardener to King Charles I |
| Species | occidentalis | From the west, western |
Tradescantia occidentalis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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