Plant ID please
Jul 29, 2019 13:31:05 #
aphelps
Loc: Central Ohio
Can anyone provide the name of this variety of the Spider Wort? I have heard it called Painted Spider Wort but I don't know if that is correct. Are they the same variety just different colors? Any comments appreciated.
Jul 29, 2019 14:02:56 #
Jul 29, 2019 14:13:09 #
There are about 30 species of Tradescantia (Spiderwort) native to North America, many of them very similar, and 5 alien species. Apparently some hybridization occurs, as well. The two most common in Eastern North America are Ohio spiderwort - Tradescantia ohiensis - and Virginia spiderwort - Tradescantia virginiana.
Color variation occurs naturally in the wild, and the nursery trade selects and vegetatively propagates showy variations of many species - "cultivars." I would guess that "Painted Spiderwort" is a nursery trade cultivar name. Also, the same plant in the wild can have different colors year to year depending upon conditions.
Richard G. Hawke at the Chicago Botanic Garden has done a comparative study of Tradescantia cultivars:
https://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/planteval_notes/no34_tradescantia.pdf
Some of his comments:
"There are approximately 70 herbaceous species of Tradescantia native to the New World. Linnaeus named the genus for John Tradescant the Elder, an eminent English plant explorer of the seventeenth century.
"Despite the fact that Tradescantia is in the predominantly tropical dayflower family (Commelinaceae), spiderworts are indige-nous to most of the continental United States, with species variously adapted to full sun, deep shade, high or low temperatures, and xeric habitats. Tradescantia virginiana, Virginia spiderwort, has a long ethnobotanical and horticultural history. Native Americans used Virginia spiderwort to treat a variety of ailments from stomachaches to cancer, as well as for food. It was among the first North American plants to be introduced to European gardens in the early 1600s. Interestingly, some spiderworts are natural Geiger counters of a sort. The fuzzy filament hairs in the flower change from blue to pink when exposed to low levels of nuclear radiation. Many temperate spiderworts are useful garden plants, while tropical species such as wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina) and Moses-in-a-boat ([i]T. spathacea[i/]) are valuable houseplants. Most of the commercially available and commonly grown hardy garden spiderworts are of complex hybrid origin, derived from crosses between T. virginiana, T. ohiensis (bluejacket), and T. subaspera (zigzag spiderwort), which occur naturally in overlapping ranges in the eastern United States. Selections of these hybrids are often lumped erroneously under the invalidly named T. andersoniana, but are more appropriately designated Andersoniana Group.
"A kaleidoscopic palette of colors—sumptuous blues, rich purples, lush violets, vibrant pinks, and brilliant whites—mark the ephemeral blossoms of spiderworts. Flowers last for one day only; hence, the origin of the common name dayflower. Flowers are actually open for less than a day, since the delicate petals curl up by afternoon as the heat of the day rises. Flowers may remain open longer on cool or cloudy days or when grown in shade."
Mike
Color variation occurs naturally in the wild, and the nursery trade selects and vegetatively propagates showy variations of many species - "cultivars." I would guess that "Painted Spiderwort" is a nursery trade cultivar name. Also, the same plant in the wild can have different colors year to year depending upon conditions.
Richard G. Hawke at the Chicago Botanic Garden has done a comparative study of Tradescantia cultivars:
https://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/planteval_notes/no34_tradescantia.pdf
Some of his comments:
"There are approximately 70 herbaceous species of Tradescantia native to the New World. Linnaeus named the genus for John Tradescant the Elder, an eminent English plant explorer of the seventeenth century.
"Despite the fact that Tradescantia is in the predominantly tropical dayflower family (Commelinaceae), spiderworts are indige-nous to most of the continental United States, with species variously adapted to full sun, deep shade, high or low temperatures, and xeric habitats. Tradescantia virginiana, Virginia spiderwort, has a long ethnobotanical and horticultural history. Native Americans used Virginia spiderwort to treat a variety of ailments from stomachaches to cancer, as well as for food. It was among the first North American plants to be introduced to European gardens in the early 1600s. Interestingly, some spiderworts are natural Geiger counters of a sort. The fuzzy filament hairs in the flower change from blue to pink when exposed to low levels of nuclear radiation. Many temperate spiderworts are useful garden plants, while tropical species such as wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina) and Moses-in-a-boat ([i]T. spathacea[i/]) are valuable houseplants. Most of the commercially available and commonly grown hardy garden spiderworts are of complex hybrid origin, derived from crosses between T. virginiana, T. ohiensis (bluejacket), and T. subaspera (zigzag spiderwort), which occur naturally in overlapping ranges in the eastern United States. Selections of these hybrids are often lumped erroneously under the invalidly named T. andersoniana, but are more appropriately designated Andersoniana Group.
"A kaleidoscopic palette of colors—sumptuous blues, rich purples, lush violets, vibrant pinks, and brilliant whites—mark the ephemeral blossoms of spiderworts. Flowers last for one day only; hence, the origin of the common name dayflower. Flowers are actually open for less than a day, since the delicate petals curl up by afternoon as the heat of the day rises. Flowers may remain open longer on cool or cloudy days or when grown in shade."
Mike
Jul 29, 2019 14:13:58 #
aphelps wrote:
Can anyone provide the name of this variety of the Spider Wort? I have heard it called Painted Spider Wort but I don't know if that is correct. Are they the same variety just different colors? Any comments appreciated.
Virginia spider wort.
Tradescantia virginiana, the Virginia spiderwort, is the type species of Tradescantia (spiderwort) native to the eastern United States. Spiderwort is commonly grown in gardens and many garden spiderworts seem to be hybrids of T. virginiana and other Tradescantia species.
I use plant snap application.
Jul 29, 2019 14:48:57 #
aphelps
Loc: Central Ohio
Thanks Mike and Frank for your very detailed responses. I appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge and resource links with me. I now realize the half dozen or so variations we have in our garden is but the tip of the iceberg for spiderworts. Truly amazing nature.
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