SPIDERWORT

Tradescantia virginiana is found in eastern North America, west to Missouri, south to northern South Carolina and Alabama, and north to Ontario, Vermont, and Michigan. Much of the northern range, however, may represent garden escapes rather than indigenous wild populations. It is an attractive garden plant and many showy hybrids  bear striking, large blue flowers, such as this one illustrated, T. virginiana 'Zwanenburg Blue'.

Look closely at a bloom and you'll notice tiny hairs covering the stamens. Under normal circumstances, they're the same blue colour as the flower. However, as Steve Bender and Felder Rushing revealed in their classic, best-selling book, "Passalong Plants", in the presence of radiation the hairs turn pink. Thus, spiderwort is an essential part of any garden near nuclear plants! Your very own natural Geiger counter in your garden...

Spiderwort had many uses in First Nation’s culture as food and medicine. The seeds are edible when roasted and are ground into a powder (although they are somewhat bitter to taste). Leaves can be made into a tea or tossed into salads, soups, etc. The root can be collected all year round. The flowers can be tossed on top of a salad and eaten.

Dried, powdered flowers were once used as a snuff for nosebleeds. Externally, this plant can be used as a poultice to help heal wounds and haemorrhoids. Internally the leaves and roots are a valuable alternative medicine used by medical herbalists for their patients as an antidiarrhoeal, analgesic, anthelminthic, antiperiodic, astringent, diaphoretic, emetic, emmenagogue, expectorant, sedative, tonic, vermifuge, and vulnerary. Also, drinking spiderwort tea is supposed to be a good for increasing breast milk (galactagogue).

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

SPIDERWORT

Tradescantia is a genus of 75 species of herbaceous perennial wildflowers in the family Commelinaceae, native to the New World from southern Canada to northern Argentina, including the West Indies. Members of the genus are known by the common name spiderwort. They were introduced into Europe as ornamental plants in the 17th century and are now grown as such in many parts of the world. Subsequently, some species have become naturalised in various regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, as well as on some oceanic islands.

Tradescantia are weakly-upright to scrambling plants, growing 30–60 cm tall, and are commonly found individually or in clumps in wooded areas and open fields. A number of species have flowers that unfold in the morning and close when the sun shines on the flowers in the afternoon but can remain open on cloudy days until evening.

Three species known colloquially as "Wandering Jew", one native to eastern Mexico, also belong to the genus Tradescantia. Other names used for various species include spider-lily, cradle-lily, oyster-plant and flowering inch plant. The genus is of interest to cytogenetics because of evolutionary changes in the structure and number of their chromosomes. In addition to their use as ornamentals, Tradescantia is of economic importance because a number of species have become pests to cultivated crops. They have also been used as bioindicators for the detection of environmental mutagens.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

VIRGINIA SPIDERWORT

Tradescantia virginiana, the Virginia spiderwort, is the type species of Tradescantia (spiderwort) native to the eastern United States. Spiderwort is commonly grown in gardens and many garden spiderworts seem to be hybrids of T. virginiana and other Tradescantia species. It belongs to the family Commelinaceae.

Tradescantia virginiana is a herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, on tubular stems. The flowers are blue, purple, or white, borne in summer. The plant is a perennial forb/herb. It likes most moist soils but can adapt to drier garden soils. Plants may be propagated from seed but they are more easily started from cuttings or divisions. 

Tradescantia virginiana is found in eastern North America, west to Missouri, south to northern South Carolina and Alabama, and north to Ontario, Vermont, and Michigan. Much of the northern range, however, may represent garden escapes rather than indigenous wild populations.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.