238 COMMELLNACEAE 



bracts wholly unlike the leaves. Sepals 3. Petals 3, white or colored, distinct. Stamens 

 6 : filaments glabrous. Capsule loculicidally 3-valved. Seed with a rough testa. 



1. Tradescantella Floridana (S. Wats.) Small. Stems creeping, slender, more or 

 less matted, flaccid, 1-3 dm. long : leaf-blades ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 1-2 cm. long, 

 thinnish, acute, ciliolate ; sheaths funnelform, minutely roughened, fringed with long 

 white cilia : cymes solitary or 2 together, terminal, their peduncles 0.5-1.5 cm. long, sub- 

 tended by ovate or ovate-lanceolate bracts : pedicels filiform, 2-6 mm. long, villous or 

 somewhat glandular : sepals ovate, about 2-3 mm. long, acutish, purple, pubescent, cilio- 

 late : petals white : filaments glabrous : anther-sacs contiguous : capsules oval, nearly 2 

 mm. long, glabrous. [Tradescantia Floridanci S. Wats.] 



In damp shady places, peninsular Florida. Thoughout the year. 



4. TRADESCANTIA L. 



Perennial caulescent herbs, sometimes with a mucilaginous sap. Leaves alternate : 

 blades often elongated, usually narrow. Cymes umbel-like, terminal, subtended by an 

 involucre of 1-3 (mostly 2), bracts similar to the leaves. Sepals 3, distinct, nearly equal. 

 Petals 3, showy, sessile, delicate. Stamens 6, all fertile, those opposite the petals some- 

 times shorter than the others : filaments filiform. Capsule loculicidally 3-valved, dry. 

 Seeds 3-6, more or less sculptured. SPIDER WORT. 



Leaf-blades linear or linear-lanceolate, 12-50 times longer than broad, more or less 



involutely folded. 

 Stems abbreviated, 1 cm. to rarely 8 cm. long : bracts Imostly longer than the 



leaves. 1. T. brevicaulis. 



Stems elongated, 10-100 cm. long : bracts mostly shorter than the leaves. 

 Sheaths not imbricated at the base of the stem. 



Stems glabrous, at least below the upper internodes : pubescence, when 



present on other parts, villous and silvery, or velvety. 

 Plants bright green : pedicels pilose or Villous : sepals pilose or villous, 



becoming membranous. 

 Pedicels and sepals pilose with gland-tipped hairs. 



Bracts usually much broader than the leaves near the sac-like 



bases. 2. T. bracteata. 



Bracts usually narrower than the leaves, the base not conspicu- 

 ously sac-like. 3. T. occidentaUs. 

 Pedicels and sepals villous with simple hairs. 4. T. Virginiana. 

 Plants glaucous : pedicels glabrous or velvety : sepals often with a tuft 



of hairs at the apex, leathery. 

 Bracts of the involucre much longer than the cyme. 



Pedicels glabrous : bases of the involucral bracts not sac-like. 5. T. reflexa. 



Pedicels pubescent : bases of the involucral bracts conspicuously 



sac-like. 6. T. gigantea. 



Bracts of the involucre shorter than the cyme. 7. T. incarnata. 



Stems hirsute with brownish or whitish hairs. " 8. T. hirsuticaulis. 



Sheaths imbricated for 5-20 cm. at the base of the stem. 



Plants densely glandular: sepals linear-lanceolate or lanceolate-oblong, 



8-10 mm. long. 



Stems 1-3 dm. tall : leaf-blades 0.8-2 dm. long : Texas species. 9. T. humilis. 



Stems 4-5 dm. tall : leaf-blades 2-4 dm. long : Florida species. 10. T, longifolia. 



Plant glabrous, except the villous sheaths at the base of the stem : sepals 



ovate or oblong, 7 mm. long. 11. T. foliosa. 



Leaf-blades ovate to lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 2-10 times longer than 



broad, flat. 



Stems glabrous, or pubescent with very short hairs. 

 Leaf-blades 2-3 times longer than broad, 1-7 cm. long. 



Sepals pubescent chiefly toward the base : native Texan species. 12. T. micrantha. 



Sepals pubescent chiefly toward the apex : introduced species. 13. T. fluminensis. 



Leaf-blades 5-10 times longer than broad, 10-25 cm. long. 



Slender : stems strict : cymes solitary and terminal or on corymbose 



branches : Alleghenian species. 14. T. montana. 



Stout : stems zigzag : cymes terminal and sessile in the upper axils : cam- 



pestrian species. 15. T. pilosa. 



Stems clothed with long villous hairs. 16. T. comata. 



1. Tradescantia brevicaulis Raf. Stems usually clustered, erect, almost wanting, 

 or 1-8 cm. tall, simple : leaf -blades linear or narrowly linear, 1.5-3 dm. long, flattish, 

 acute or sometimes rather obtuse ; sheaths 1-2.5 cm. long^ villous, mostly imbricated : 

 bracts 2, nearly equal, longer than the leaves : pedicels stoutish, 3.5-5.5 cm. long, villous : 

 cymes 5-15-flowered : sepals ovate or oblong-ovate, 10-11 mm. long, obtuse : corolla 

 mostly purplish blue, about 2 cm. broad : petals suborbicular, obtuse, delicately veined : 

 mature capsule not seen. 



On hillsides and in woods, Illinois to Missouri and Tennessee. Spring. 



2. Tradescantia bracteata Small. Stems rather stocky, often clustered, erect or 

 ascending, 1-2 dm. tall or rarely somewhat taller, sometimes sparingly branched : leaf- 

 blades broadly linear or linear-lanceolate, 1-2 dm. long, involutely folded, curved ; 



