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inchplant, wandering-jew

longleaf spiderwort

Habit Herbs, decumbent. Herbs, erect or ascending, rarely rooting at nodes.
Roots

thin, fibrous, 0.5–1(–2) mm thick.

Stems

unbranched or sparsely branched, 19–60 cm;

internodes puberulent with glandular or eglandular hairs, rarely pilose or 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, 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, consisting of pairs of sessile cymes enclosed in sheaths of spathaceous bracts, pedunculate; spathaceous bracts foliaceous, reduced.

terminal, often axillary;

bracts foliaceous.

Flowers

subsessile;

sepals basally connate, 4–5 mm;

petals pink, clawed, claws basally connate forming tube;

stamens epipetalous;

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

3-locular;

locules 2-seeded.

5–7 mm.

Seeds

3–4 mm.

2n

= 24.

Tradescantia zebrina

Tradescantia roseolens

Phenology Flowering fall–winter (Sep–Feb). Flowering late winter–summer (Feb–Aug).
Habitat Hummocks and weedy places Oak and oak-palmetto scrub, oak woods, pine woods, hammocks, sandhills, roadsides, and open areas, sandy soil
Distribution
from FNA
FL; native; tropical America [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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. 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. 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
Synonyms Zebrina pendula
Name authority Hort ex Bosse: Vollstandiges Handb. Blumengart. 4: 655. (1849) Small: Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 51:379. (1924)
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