COMMELINA CEA E. 24 1 



natives of tropical and temperate America. Besides the following^ some 8 others 

 occur in the southern U. S. 



Umbel-like cymes peduncled, subtended by small bracts. 1. T. rosea. 



Umbel-like cymes sessile, subtended by leaf-like bracts. 



Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, 12-50 times longer than broad. 



Stems 1 to rarely 8 cm. long; bracts longer than the leaves. 2. T. brevicaulis. 

 Stems elongated, 1-10 dm. long ; bracts mostly shorter than the leaves. 



Foliage bright green ; pedicels, like the sepals, pilose or villous ; sepals be- 

 coming membranous. 



Pedicels and sepals pilose with gland-tipped hairs. 



Stems 1-3 dm. tall ; bracts lanceolate, the bases sac-like, whitish, 



broader than the leaves. 3. T. bracteata. 



Stems 3-8 dm. tall ; bracts linear, the bases not sac-like, green, 

 narrower than the leaves. 4. T. occidentalis. 



Pedicels and sepals villous with non-glandular hairs. 



5. T. Virginiana. 

 Foliage glaucous ; pedicels glabrous ; sepals with a tuft of hairs at the apex» 



6. T. reflexa* 

 Leaves lanceolate, 2-10 times longer than broad. 



Slender ; stems strict ; cymes solitary and terminal or on corymbed branches ; 



species Alleghenian. 7. T. montana. 



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



pestrian. 8. T. pilosa. 



1. Tradescantia rosea Vent. Roseate Spiderwort. (I. F. f. 914.) Gla- 

 brous; stem slender, erect, mostly tufted, 12-30 cm. tall. Leaves narrowly 

 linear, grass-like, nearly erect, channeled, 10-18 cm. long, clasping at the base; 

 bracts very short and scarious; cymes terminal, long-peduncled, few-flowered, sub- 

 tended by small pointed bracts; pedicels slender; sepals lanceolate, acute, 4-6 mm. 

 long, shorter than the petals; corolla rose-color, 12-16 mm. broad; filaments hairy; 

 style slender, long-exserted. In dry woods, Md. to Mo., south to Fla. and Tex. 

 April-Aug. 



2. Tradescantia brevicaulis Raf. Short-stemmed Spiderwort. (I. F. f. 

 912.) Villous with long hairs; stems only 1-8 cm. high, the plant often appearing 

 nearly stemless; leaves mostly basal, 1.5-3 dm. long, grass-like, linear-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, ciliate, at least at the base, glabrous, or villous toward the apex; bracts 

 similar to the leaves, but usually more elongated; cymes 4- 12 -flowered; pedicels 

 slender, 2.5-5 cm - l° n g' villous; sepals oblong; corolla about 2.5 cm. broad, blue or 

 rose-purple. In dry soil, 111., Ky. and Mo. April-May. 



3. Tradescantia bracteata Small. Long-bracted Spiderwort. (I. F. f. 

 910a.) Deep green, glabrous to the inflorescence or nearly so; stems erect, 1-3 

 dm. tall, simple or sparingly branched; leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, 1-2 dm. 

 long, long-acuminate; sheaths paler than the leaf-blades, conspicuously ribbed, 

 the upper often ciliate; bracts of the involucre 2, broader than the leaves, saccate 

 at the base, ciliate, often villous on the back; cymes few-flowered; pedicels 1.2-2.5 

 cm. long, glandular-pubescent like the sepals; sepals ovate-lanceolate or elliptic- 

 lanceolate, involute; corolla blue or reddish, about 2.5 cm. broad. In sandy soil, 

 Minn, to S. Dak., south to Kans. Spring and summer. 



4. Tradescantia occidentalis Britton. Western Spiderwort. Mostly 

 glabrous to the inflorescence, bright green. Stems solitary, erect, 3-8 dm. tall, 

 simple; leaves linear, 2-3 dm. long, involutely folded, curved; sheaths 1-4 cm. 

 long, conspicuously ribbed, rarely with a few cilia; bracts of the involucre 2, linear, 

 slightly unequal; pedicels rather slender, 1-2 cm. long; sepals oblong or elliptic, 

 apparently lanceolate by the involute edges, 8-10 mm. long, glandular-pilose; 

 petals blue or reddish, almost I cm. long, orbicular-ovate; capsules obovoid or ob- 

 long, 5-6 mm. long, puberulent at the apex; seeds 3 mm. long, pitted and ridged. 

 On sand-hills, Iowa to Tex., west to the Rocky Mts. Summer. (T. Virginiana 

 occidentalis Britton.) 



5. Tradescantia Virginiana L. Spiderwort. (T. F. f. 910.) Glabrous 

 or slightly pubescent, bright green ; stems stout, 2-4 dm. tall. Leaves nearly flat, 

 linear or linear-lanceolate, long-acuminate, often more than 3 dm. long; bracts leaf- 

 like, commonly nearly as wide as the leaves; cymes solitary and terminal, or rarely 



