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inchplant, wandering-jew

canyon spiderwort

Habit Herbs, decumbent.
Roots

clustered, fibrous-thickened.

Stems

sparsely branched, 30–50 cm, tufted, glabrous.

Leaves

2-ranked;

blade variegated, abaxially reddish purple, adaxially striped green and white, lanceolate-elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 3–9 × 1.5–3 cm (distal leaf blades wider or narrower than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), base oblique, cuneate, apex acute to acuminate.

spirally arranged, distant;

blade not variegated, narrowly lanceolate, 7.5–16 × 1–2.5 cm (distal leaf blades wider or narrower than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), base symmetric, rounded to broadly cuneate, margins smooth or ciliate-scabrous, apex acuminate, glabrous to sparsely pubescent.

Inflorescences

terminal, consisting of pairs of sessile cymes enclosed in sheaths of spathaceous bracts, pedunculate; spathaceous bracts foliaceous, reduced.

terminal;

bracts very unlike proximal stem leaves, connate, ovate-lanceolate, 2.4–4.5 cm, base cordate, somewhat dilated.

Flowers

subsessile;

sepals basally connate, 4–5 mm;

petals pink, clawed, claws basally connate forming tube;

stamens epipetalous;

filaments bearded.

subsessile;

pedicels densely covered with white, long, eglandular hairs or occasionally only with colorless, short, glandular hairs;

sepals distinct, usually glandular-pubescent as well as villous;

petals purplish red, clawed, claws connate basally forming tube;

stamens epipetalous;

filaments glabrous.

Capsules

3-locular;

locules 2-seeded.

3.5 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

1.5 mm.

Tradescantia zebrina

Tradescantia leiandra

Phenology Flowering fall–winter (Sep–Feb). Flowering summer–fall (Jul–Oct).
Habitat Hummocks and weedy places Moist, rocky places, on ledges, among shrubs and in canyons
Distribution
from FNA
FL; native; tropical America [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo Leon)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The plants from the Capote Falls region of Presidio County, Texas have pedicels with short, colorless, glandular hairs instead of long, white, eglandular hairs and were separated as Tradescantia leiandra var. glandulosa Correll (D. S. Correll 1968).

(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. 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. roseolens, T. spathacea, T. subacaulis, T. subaspera, T. tharpii, T. virginiana, T. wrightii
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. 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
Synonyms Zebrina pendula Setcreasea leiandra
Name authority Hort ex Bosse: Vollstandiges Handb. Blumengart. 4: 655. (1849) Torrey: in W. H. Emory, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, ... 2(1): 224. (1859)
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