Tradescantia ernestiana |
Tradescantia reverchonii |
|
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Ernest's spiderwort |
Reverchon's spiderwort |
|
Habit | Herbs, erect or ascending, rarely rooting at nodes. | Herbs, erect or ascending, rarely rooting at nodes. |
Roots | (1–)1.5–5 mm thick, fleshy. |
thick, fleshy, densely brownish-tomentose. |
Stems | not flexuous, 5–40 cm; internodes usually glabrous. |
erect or ascending, unbranched or sparsely branched, 30–105 cm; internodes arachnoid-pubescent. |
Leaves | spirally arranged, sessile; blade dull green, linear-lanceolate to lanceolate-oblong, 9–27 × 1–4 cm (distal leaf blades wider than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), base cuneate to rounded, apex acuminate, not glaucous, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. |
spirally arranged, sessile; blade linear-lanceolate, 10–35 × 0.7–2.8 cm (distal leaf blades equal to or narrower than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), apex acuminate, arachnoid-pubescent, especially on sheaths. |
Inflorescences | terminal; bracts foliaceous. |
terminal, often axillary; bracts foliaceous. |
Flowers | distinctly pedicillate; pedicels 2–3.2 cm, minutely pilose; sepals somewhat inflated, 9–16 mm, uniformly eglandular-pilose; petals distinct, deep blue, purple, or rose-red, broadly ovate, not clawed, 1.2–1.5 cm; stamens free; filaments bearded. |
distinctly pedicillate; pedicels 1–2.3 cm, pilose or villous with eglandular or mixed eglandular, glandular hairs; sepals 5–14 mm, pubescent with mixture of glandular, eglandular hairs; petals distinct, bright blue-violet, rarely rose or white, broadly ovate, not clawed, 15–18 mm; stamens free; filaments bearded. |
Capsules | 5–7 mm. |
6–8 mm. |
Seeds | 2–3 mm. |
3–4 mm; hilum as long as seed. |
2n | = 12. |
= 12, 24. |
Tradescantia ernestiana |
Tradescantia reverchonii |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring (Mar–May). | Flowering spring–summer (Mar–Jul). |
Habitat | Wooded hillsides, ledges and bluffs, occasionally along streams or in pastures | Sandhills with oaks, pine woods, rocky open woods, rarely seepage areas, and roadsides |
Distribution |
AL; AR; GA; MO; OK; TX
|
AR; LA; TX |
Discussion | Tradescantia ernestiana is sympatric with, and easily confused with, T. virginiana in northern Alabama and perhaps northern Georgia [reported from Georgia by C. Sinclair (1967, p. 87), but no specimens are cited and I have seen none]. At present, the two species can be separated only by the relative width of the blade and sheath of the distal leaves. They are obviously closely related and should be studied in the field in the southern Appalachians where their ranges overlap. The Texas record is taken from C. Sinclair (1967). The hybrid Tradescantia ernestinana × T. ozarkana is known from Arkansas and Missouri. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 22. | FNA vol. 22. |
Parent taxa | Commelinaceae > Tradescantia | Commelinaceae > Tradescantia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | E. S. Anderson & Woodson: Contr. Arnold Arbor. 9: 58, plate 8, map 4. (1935) | Bush |
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