Plant Image
Flowers


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Tradescantia occidentalis - prairie spiderwort

Other Common Names: western spiderwort
Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Commelinaceae


   
 
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Leaves
Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Plant
Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Perennial   Similar Species: Tradescantia pinetorum
General Desc: Unusual looking mostly erect plant with exotic looking flowers that open in the morning and often wilt by noon on hot days.
Identification notes: Roots thick but not tuber-like; stem stout, glabrous; leaf sheaths glabrous; leaves long and narrow; flowers pale purple in mostly terminal clusters sometimes axillary, clusters opening from the center outward, petals broadly ovate.
Height: To 30 inches


Habitat

Habitat Description: Riparian habitats, rocky hillsides in grasslands, chaparral, oak and pine-oak forest to ponderosa pine on granitic and limestone substrate.
Plant Communities: Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Riparian
Elevation: 2500 - 7000 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: Pink, purple, blue     Shape: Regular in elongated clusters     Tubular: N     Flowering Period: Apr - Sep
Description: 3 (rarely 4) equal-sized petals, to 1 inch wide, in clusters of up to 10 flowers at tip of stems.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Bluish-green     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Narrow     Leaf Margin: Smooth     Leaf Attachment: Alternate     Leaves Clasp: N
Hairs: No     Spines: N
Leaf Description: Grass-like, arching, 6 to 15 inches long, 3/8 inch wide, clasping the stem at the base; each leaf has long parallel veining and is folded lengthwise forming a V-groove. Stems contain slimy sap.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Slightly more than 1/4 inch long.


  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailForb.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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