COMMON SPIDERWORT
File Size: 80 KB
 
Tradescantia ohiensis  Raf.
Morris County, Kansas
Perennial
Height: 1-3 feet
Family: Commelinaceae - Spiderwort Family
Flowering Period:   May, June, July, August
Also Called: Spiderwort, ohio spiderwort, reflext spiderwort.
Stems: Erect, slender, 1 to many, sometimes branched, glabrous, waxy, bluish-green; somewhat succulent; nodes 3-8; internodes to 9 inches.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, firm, linear-lanceolate, 4 to 14 inches long, 1/4 to 3/4 inches wide, glabrous, waxy, sheath stem at nodes, margins entire.
Inflorescences: Cymes, umbel-like, few to many-flowered, terminal on main stem or branches; subtended by leafy bracts 1 to 8 inches long, waxy, glabrous to soft-hairy at base.
Flowers: Stalks 1/4 to 1 inch long, glabrous; sepals 3, elliptic, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, glabrous, waxy, tips pointed and sometimes bearing tuft of hair, margins sometimes purplish-red; petals 3, broadly egg-shaped, blue, purple, or lavender, 1 to 1.5 inch wide; stamens 6; filaments densely bearded.
Fruits: Capsules, rounded; seeds 2-6, gray, 1/12 to 1/6 inch long.
Habitat: Roadsides, meadows, thickets, prairies, open woods or disturbed areas; moist places, on sandy, rocky, or clayey soil.
Distribution: Principally east 1/2 of Kansas.
Comments: Sometimes referred to as "cow-slobbers" because of the mucilaginous slimy substance in the stem. Tradescantia is named for John Tradescant, gardener for Charles the First of England in the 17th century. Wort comes from Anglo-Saxon wyrt "herb" or "root", and spider from the belief held at one time that they would cure spider bites.
 Three other spiderworts are observed in Kansas: prairie spiderwort , bracted spiderwort , and Tharps' spiderwort .

Common spiderwort inflorescence
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Morris County, Kansas
Common spiderwort sepals
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Morris County, Kansas
Common spiderwort stamens and filaments
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Morris County, Kansas
Common spiderwort
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Morris County, Kansas
Common spiderwort
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Cloud County, Kansas
Common spiderwort
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Cloud County, Kansas
Common spiderwort
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Cloud County, Kansas
Common spiderwort
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Cloud County, Kansas