The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Ernest's spiderwort

longleaf 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.

thin, fibrous, 0.5–1(–2) mm thick.

Stems

not flexuous, 5–40 cm;

internodes usually glabrous.

unbranched or sparsely branched, 19–60 cm;

internodes puberulent with glandular or eglandular hairs, rarely pilose or glabrous.

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, 10–42 × 0.5–1.6 cm (distal leaf blades equal to or narrower than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), apex acuminate, somewhat glaucous, puberulent to pilosulose, rarely glabrescent.

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.

rose-scented, distinctly pedicillate;

pedicels 1–2.8 cm, glandular-puberulent;

sepals 6–12 mm, glandular-puberulent, glandular hairs numerous and conspicuous, often mixed with eglandular hairs, usually with apical tuft of eglandular hairs, all hairs less than 1mm;

petals distinct, broadly deep blue to magenta, ovate, not clawed, 10–14 mm;

stamens free;

filaments bearded.

Capsules

5–7 mm.

5–7 mm.

Seeds

2–3 mm.

3–4 mm.

2n

= 12.

= 24.

Tradescantia ernestiana

Tradescantia roseolens

Phenology Flowering spring (Mar–May). Flowering late winter–summer (Feb–Aug).
Habitat Wooded hillsides, ledges and bluffs, occasionally along streams or in pastures Oak and oak-palmetto scrub, oak woods, pine woods, hammocks, sandhills, roadsides, and open areas, sandy soil
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; GA; MO; OK; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Although E. Anderson and R. E. Woodson Jr. (1935) do not report eglandular hairs on the sepals in Tradescantia roseolens, they are present in nearly all specimens. While some eglandular hairs might be the result of hybridization, in general they seem to be part of the normal variation in this species.

The illegitimate name Tradescantia longifolia Small (a later homonym of T. longifolia Sessé and Mociño 1894) has been used for this species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 22. FNA vol. 22.
Parent taxa Commelinaceae > Tradescantia Commelinaceae > Tradescantia
Sibling taxa
T. bracteata, T. brevifolia, T. buckleyi, T. crassifolia, T. crassula, T. edwardsiana, T. fluminensis, T. gigantea, T. hirsuticaulis, T. hirsutiflora, T. humilis, T. leiandra, T. longipes, T. occidentalis, T. ohiensis, T. ozarkana, T. pallida, T. paludosa, T. pedicellata, T. pinetorum, T. reverchonii, T. roseolens, T. spathacea, T. subacaulis, T. subaspera, T. tharpii, T. virginiana, T. wrightii, T. zebrina
T. bracteata, T. brevifolia, T. buckleyi, T. crassifolia, T. crassula, T. edwardsiana, T. ernestiana, T. fluminensis, T. gigantea, T. hirsuticaulis, T. hirsutiflora, T. humilis, T. leiandra, T. longipes, T. occidentalis, T. ohiensis, T. ozarkana, T. pallida, T. paludosa, T. pedicellata, T. pinetorum, T. reverchonii, T. spathacea, T. subacaulis, T. subaspera, T. tharpii, T. virginiana, T. wrightii, T. zebrina
Name authority E. S. Anderson & Woodson: Contr. Arnold Arbor. 9: 58, plate 8, map 4. (1935) Small: Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 51:379. (1924)
Web links