Flower ID: IMG_1837.JPG-08-20-2017 Flower name (scientific): Tradescantia occidentalis (Britton) Smyth PY: 1899. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) trad-es-KAN-tee-uh ock-sih-den-TAH-liss Flower name (common): Prairie Spiderwort Family name (common): Spiderwort (Dayflower) Family name (scientific): Commelinaceae Scientific name origin: Genus: Named by Linnaeus to honor John Tradescant the elder, (c. 1570 - 1638), English gardener to King Charles I, and his son John Tradescant the Younger (1608 - 1662). Specific epithet: Latin for western, or coming from the west. Common name origin: The resemblance of the plant, with its long narrow leaves, to the legs of a spider. Usage dates back to at least 1597 (OED). Flower description: Size: 0.9 to 1.1 inches (2.3 to 2.8 cm) Petal count: 3 (flowers with 4 petals are atypical) Color: Purple Other: flower arrangement, Cluster-cyme Plant description: Erect Size: 10 to 24 inches (25 to 61 cm) Stem hairy: Other: Leaf description: attachment is alternate, type is simple Size: Leaves up to 50 cm long and 2.5 to 3 cm wide. Color: Hairy: Other: Shape: leaf, linear-lanceolate (FNA) Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Common Bloom time (typical): May to September Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Perennial Habitat: Prairies, woodland edges, roadsides, sun or part shade, dry to moist. Fruit: Seed: Importance to wildlife: Similar species (if any): Of the approximately 30 species of Tradescantia known in the US, only 3 are reported from Wisconsin, with the same number from Minnesota. Tradescantia bracteata (Long-bracted Spiderwort, Bracted Spiderwort) and Tradescantia ohiensis (Ohio Spiderwort) are the other two Tradescantia species present in Wisconsin, and they do resemble Tradescantia occidentalis. Tradescantia ohiensis can be distinguished from T. bracteata and T. occidentalis by the usual absence of hairs on the sepals and flower stems, though sometimes it may have a few sparse eglandular (non-glandular) hairs. T. occidentalis has a sparse to dense covering of short hairs on the sepals and flower stems, and T. bracteata has a dense covering of a mixture of longish glandular and eglandular hairs on the sepals and flower stems. Ethnobotany: The Meskwaki used the root to prepare a tea that was employed as a remedy for urinary issues (Smith, p. 209, 1928). Latitude: Longitude: Altitude: Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Buffalo, Burnett, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, St. Croix, Waupaca, Waushara) Click here for distribution map In US: (AR, AZ, CO, IA, KS, LA, MN, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NY, OK, SD, TX, UT, WI, WY) Click here for distribution map In Canada: (AB, MB, SK) Click here for distribution map References: Synonym(s): Basionym: Tradescantia virginiana var. occidentalis Britton Ill. Fl. N. U.S. (Britton & Brown) 1: 377 (1896). Homotypic Synonym(s): Heterotypic Synonym(s): Autonym:Tradescantia occidentalis var. occidentalis (The other infraspecifics are Tradescantia occidentalis var. melanthera MacRoberts, Tradescantia occidentalis var. scopulorum (Rose) E. S. Anderson & Woodson both of which occur in four southern US states.) Wetland Status (NC): UPL Wetland Status (MW): UPL