Flower ID: IMG_0798.JPG-06-19-2017 Flower name (scientific): Tradescantia ohiensis Rafinesque PY: 1814. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) trad-es-KAN-tee-uh oh-hi-EN-sis Flower name (common): Ohio 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: Of or pertaining to Ohio. Common name origin: From the state of origin of the first specimen of this species that was documented. 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 Color: Blue - purple, pinkish or white less common. Other: flower arrangement, Cluster-cyme Plant description: Erect Size: 16 to 40 inches (41 to 102 cm) Stem hairy: Other: Leaf description: attachment is alternate, type is simple Size: Leaves up to 45 cm long and up to 2 to 4.5 cm wide. Color: Hairy: Other: Shape: leaf, linear to linear-lanceolate (FNA) Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Common Bloom time (typical): April to July 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 occidentalis (Prairie Spiderwort) are the other two Tradescantia species present in Wisconsin, and they do resemble Tradescantia ohiensis. T. 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. Tradescantia ohiensis is the most widely distributed of the Tradescantia species in Wisconsin. Ethnobotany: Latitude: Longitude: Altitude: Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Adams, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, La Crosse, Lafayette, Lincoln, Marathon, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oneida, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Waukesha, Waushara, Wood) Click here for distribution map In US: (AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV) In Canada: (ON) References: Synonym(s): Basionym: na Homotypic Synonym(s): Heterotypic Synonym(s): Autonym: na