Spring Flora of Oklahoma 
3 
II. TRADESCANTIA L. 
Perennials. Stems mucilaginous, mostly upright, leafy. 
Leaves keeled. Flowers lasting for only one day, in um- 
beled clusters, axillary and terminal, produced through 
the summer. Flowers regular. Sepals herbaceous. Pet¬ 
als all alike, ovate, sessile. Stamens all fertile; filaments 
bearded. 
Stems 1' to rarely 4' long; bracts longer than the 
leaves. 1. T. brevicaulis. 
Stems elongated, 4'-3' long; bracts mostly shorter than 
the leaves. 
Foliage bright green; pedicels, like the sepals, pilose 
or villous. 
Pedicels and sepals pilose with gland-tipped hairs. 
2. T. occidentalis. 
Pedicels and sepals villous with non-glandular 
hairs. 3. T. virginiana. 
Foliage glaucous; pedicels glabrous; sepals with a 
tuft of hairs at the apex. 4. T. reflexa. 
1. Tradeseantia brevicaulis Raf. Short-stemmed Spiderwort. 
Often appearing nearly stemless, very hairy. Roots a cluster of dark 
thickened fibers. Leaves lance-linear. Sepals ovate-lanceolate. Co¬ 
rolla about 1' broad, blue or rose-purple. 
Sandy soil. Specimens collected near Enid and Sulphur. April- 
May. Easy to transplant. 
2. Tradeseantia occidentalis (Britton) Smyth. Western Spi¬ 
derwort. Slender, bright green, erect, 1 '-2*4' tall. Leaves narrowly 
linear, involute, their bases often enlarged. The bracts scarcely if 
at all broader than the leaves. Sepals glandular-pubescent. Petals 
blue or reddish, almost 5" long. 
Common on sandy soil. May-August. Easily transplanted. 
3. Tradeseantia virginiaina L. Spiderwort. Glabrous or slightly 
pubescent, succulent, glaucous or green, stems stout, 8'-3° tall. Bracts 
leaf-like, elongated, usually ascending. Petals rich purple-blue, 
G'-l ° long. 
Woods and prairies. Oklahoma County. April-August. 
4. Tradeseantia rteflexa Raf. Reflexed Spiderwort. Perennial, 
glabrous, glaucous. Stems erect, l°-3° tall, nearly straight, commonly 
