Virginia Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana)

This is a conspicuous roadside prairie wildflower with many common names - the officially recognized English language name
is "bluejacket", rarely used by anyone. In the American Midwest it's usually called spiderwort, but the backwoods common name is
snotweed; hardly in keeping with its beautiful blue flowers.

Spiderwort is a common perennial prairie forb, with typical three-part monocot flowers and often line roadsides on June mornings.
The individual flowers bloom for just a single day and generally wilt in the midday sun. There are many flowers in a flower head
and their display lasts for at least two weeks.

Spiderworts are excellent for the sand garden, with attractive glaucous foliage and a long flowering season. Spiderworts
grow best in sand, but any well drained soil will work. The plants seem to flower well when they get partial shade part of the day.

Many color variations exist, including indigo, royal blue, violet, pink-rose as well as white. Variegated forms are sometimes observed,
and "poppy red" individuals have been reported. The variation in petal color are said to persist in cultivation. With their fibrous
root system, they are easy to transplant and are carefree.

( source: http://www.bigeastern.com/eotp/tradescantia_ohiensis.htm )


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