The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Spiderwort
SPIDERWORT, any plant of the genus
Tradescantia, or (by extension) of the family
Commelinacaæ. The spiderworts are perennial,
succulent, somewhat mucilaginous herbs, having
linear or lanceolate leaves and showy reddish or
blue flowers in umbel-like cymes, subtended by
bracts. Tradescantia virginiana is a species
native to the Middle Atlantic States, but often
found farther north in cultivation or escaped
from gardens. It has stems often in clusters
and about a foot high; the leaves very narrow,
either glabrous or slightly pubescent, as long as
the stem and of a bright green color. The large
corollas of three petals are sky-blue, the villous
pedicels being declined until in bloom. The
sepals are broad and herbaceous. The anthers
are large, crescent-shaped and golden, and the
filaments are heavily bearded. A South American
spiderwort, T. fluminensis, is better known
under the title of Wandering Jew. It has similar
flowers and broadly lanceolate leaves and
is very easily propagated by cuttings, growing
often in water only.