Flora of North America species comparison

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Tradescantia ohiensis

bluejacket, Ohio spiderwort, smooth spiderwort
Habit Herbs, erect or ascending, rarely rooting at nodes.
Stems

15–115 cm;

internodes glabrous or occasionally pilose, glaucous.
Leaves

spirally arranged, sessile, forming acute angle with stem, arcuate;

blade linear to linear-lanceolate, 5–45 × 0.4–4.5 cm (distal leaf blades equal to or narrower than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), apex acuminate, glaucous, usually glabrous, sometimes pilose near sheath.
Inflorescences

terminal and often axillary;

bracts foliaceous.
Flowers

distinctly pedicillate;

pedicels 0.7–3 cm, glabrous;

sepals glaucous, 4–15 mm, glabrous or with apical tuft of eglandular hairs;

petals distinct, deep blue to rose, rarely white, broadly ovate, not clawed, 0.8–2 cm;

stamens free;

filaments bearded.
Capsules

4–6 mm.
Seeds

2–3 mm.
2n

= 12, 24.

Tradescantia ohiensis
Phenology Flowering late winter–fall (Feb (Fla)–Sep).
Habitat Roadsides, railroad rights-of-way, fields, thickets, less commonly in woods, occasionally along streams
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Tradescantia ohiensis is the most common and widespread species in the United States. It hybridizes with many of the other species.

Tradescantia ohiensis var. foliosa (Small) MacRoberts has been recognized for the forms with pilose leaves and sheaths (D. T. MacRoberts 1977). I have found such plants scattered among populations of glabrous plants, and I do not consider them worthy of formal taxonomic status.

The following hybrids are known: Tradescantia ohiensis × T. gigantea, in Louisiana and Texas; T. ohiensis × T. hirsuticaulis, Arkansas; T. ohiensis × T. occidentalis, Arkansas, Louisiana; T. ohiensis × T. ozarkana, Arkansas; T. ohiensis × T. paludosa, Louisiana (reported by MacRoberts, 1980); T. ohiensis × T. roseolens, Alabama, Florida; T. ohiensis × T. subaspera, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia; and T. ohiensis × T. virginiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 22, p. 178.
Parent taxa Commelinaceae > Tradescantia
Sibling taxa
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. 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
Synonyms T. canaliculata, T. foliosa, T. incarnata, T. reflexa
Name authority Rafinesque: Précis Découv. Somiol. 45. (1814)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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