Tradescantia occidentalis

Last updated

Western spiderwort
0 Tradescantia occidentalis - Samoens (2).JPG
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Commelinales
Family: Commelinaceae
Genus: Tradescantia
Species:
T. occidentalis
Binomial name
Tradescantia occidentalis
Varieties
  • Tradescantia occidentalis var. melanthera
  • Tradescantia occidentalis var. occidentalis
  • Tradescantia occidentalis var. scopulorum [3]

Tradescantia occidentalis, the prairie spiderwort [3] or western spiderwort, is a plant in the dayflower family, Commelinaceae. It is common and widespread across the western Great Plains of the United States, as well as in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, and Sonora, but is listed as a threatened species in Canada. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Like in a few other species of Tradescantia , the cells of the stamen hairs of Western spiderwort are normally colored blue, but when exposed to neutron radiation or other forms of ionizing radiation, the cells mutate and change color to pink. [7] Thus the plant can be used as a bioassay for radiation.

Prairie spiderwort (tradescantia occidentalis) in the Wichita Mountains, southwest Oklahoma. Tradescantia occidentialis.png
Prairie spiderwort (tradescantia occidentalis) in the Wichita Mountains, southwest Oklahoma.

Related Research Articles

<i>Tradescantia</i> Genus of plants

Tradescantia is a genus of 85 species of herbaceous perennial wildflowers in the family Commelinaceae, native to the Americas from southern Canada to northern Argentina, including the West Indies. Members of the genus are known by many common names, including inchplant, wandering jew, spiderwort, dayflower and trad.

<i>Thuja occidentalis</i> Species of evergreen coniferous tree

Thuja occidentalis, also known as northern white-cedar, eastern white-cedar, or arborvitae, is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is native to eastern Canada and much of the north-central and northeastern United States. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is not to be confused with Juniperus virginiana.

<i>Tradescantia pallida</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia pallida is a species of spiderwort native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. The cultivar T. pallida 'Purpurea' is commonly called purple secretia, purple-heart, or purple queen. Edward Palmer collected the type specimen near Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas in 1907.

<i>Tradescantia fluminensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia fluminensis is a species of spiderwort native to South America. It is one of several plants known by the common name wandering Jew. It is also known as small-leaf spiderwort, river spiderwort, inch plant, speedy Henry, wandering willie and wandering trad.

<i>Cephalanthus occidentalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Cephalanthus occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae that is native to eastern and southern North America. Common names include buttonbush, common buttonbush, button-willow, buck brush, and honey-bells.

<i>Tradescantia virginiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia virginiana, the Virginia spiderwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Commelinaceae. It is the type species of Tradescantia, native to the eastern United States. It is commonly grown in many gardens and also found growing wild along roadsides and railway lines.

<i>Tradescantia ohiensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia ohiensis, commonly known as bluejacket or Ohio spiderwort, is an herbaceous plant species in the genus Tradescantia native to eastern and central North America. It is the most common and widely distributed species of Tradescantia in the United States, where it can be found from Maine in the northeast, west to Minnesota, and south to Texas and Florida. It also has a very small distribution in Canada in extreme southern Ontario near Windsor.

<i>Senna occidentalis</i> Species of plant

Senna occidentalis, commonly known as coffee senna, styptic weed, or septicweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is native to India, the southern United States of America, Mexico and South America. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves, with three to seven pairs of broadly elliptic to egg-shaped leaflets, and yellow flowers arranged in groups of two to four, with six fertile stamens in each flower. It is an aggressive, pantropical weed.

<i>Tradescantia bracteata</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia bracteata, the longbract spiderwort, or prairie spiderwort, is a species of Tradescantia. It is native to the northern and central Great Plains and Mississippi Valley regions of the United States, from Arkansas and Oklahoma north to Minnesota and Montana, with a few isolated populations farther east. It is grown for its purple flowers. It blooms from May to July in the US. A protected population of the species is found in the Sugarloaf Mountains-Midland Peak Natural Area.

<i>Tradescantia ozarkana</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia ozarkana, the Ozark spiderwort, is a species of Tradescantia. It is part of the Commelinaceae family, native to the States of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma in the south-central United States. It flowers from April to May and can be found in rich, rocky areas, including woods and bluff ledges.

<i>Tradescantia humilis</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia humilis, the Texas spiderwort, is a species of Tradescantia native to Texas and southern Oklahoma. It was named after John Tradescant (1608-1662) who served as gardener to Charles I of England. It was described by US botanist Joseph Nelson Rose in 1899.

<i>Tradescantia crassula</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia crassula, common names succulent spiderwort and white-flowered tradescantia, is a species of plants in the Commelinaceae. It is native to southeastern Brazil, Uruguay, and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and has been introduced to Florida. It flowers in May in Florida, and can be found under Oak Trees.

Tradescantia pinetorum, the pinewoods spiderwort, is a species of Tradescantia and part of the family Commelinaceae.

<i>Gaultheria hispidula</i> Species of plant

Gaultheria hispidula, commonly known as the creeping snowberry or moxie-plum, and known to Micmaq tribes of Newfoundland as Manna Teaberry, is a perennial spreading ground-level vine of the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to North America and produces small white edible berries. It fruits from August to September. Its leaves and berries taste and smell like wintergreen.

Tradescantia buckleyi, commonly known as Buckley's spiderwort, is a species of flowering plant in the dayflower family, Commelinaceae. It is native to southern Texas in the United States as well as northern Tamaulipas in Mexico. The specific name honours Samuel Botsford Buckley (1809-1884), who collected the type specimen near Corpus Christi, Texas.

T. occidentalis may refer to several different species. The specific epithet occidentalis means 'western.'

<i>Tradescantia hirsuticaulis</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia hirsuticaulis, commonly called hairystem spiderwort, is a species of plant in the dayflower family that is native to south-central United States.

<i>Tradescantia reverchonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia reverchonii, commonly called Reverchon's spiderwort, is a species of plant in the dayflower family that is native to central and eastern Texas, western Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas in the United States.

<i>Tradescantia ernestiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia ernestiana, commonly called Ernest's Spiderwort, is a species of plant in the dayflower family that is native mainly to the interior highlands of the United States with a distinct population in Alabama. The plant is also found in Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

<i>Tradescantia hirsutiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Tradescantia hirsutiflora, commonly called hairyflower spiderwort, is a species of plant in the spiderwort family that is native to the south-central United States of America.

References

  1. Maiz-Tome, L. (2016). "Tradescantia occidentalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T64325500A67731117. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64325500A67731117.en . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  2. NatureServe (2024). "Tradescantia occidentalis". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tradescantia occidentalis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  4. "Tradescantia occidentalis". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  5. "Tradescantia occidentalis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  6. "Species Profile: Western Spiderwort". Species at Risk Public Registry. Government of Canada. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  7. Dennis, J. A. (April 1976). "Somatic Aberration Induction in Tradescantia Occidentalis by Neutrons, X- and Gamma-radiations". International Journal of Radiation Biology. 29 (4): 323–342. doi:10.1080/09553007614550381. PMID   1084866.