Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge Parkway - Virginia Spiderwort

Virginia Spiderwort is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial which grows at to 3 feet tall. It has distinctive zigzag stems and broader leaves which distinguiish this plant from the quite similar tradescantia virginiana. It has a violet-blue to purple, three-petaled flowers accented by yellow stamens that open up, each for only one day. Flowers bloom successively from late May into early August. When the stems of spiderworts are cut, a viscous stem is released which then becomes threadlike and silking upon hardening (like a spider's web). This plant enjoys partly shaded to fully shaded areas.

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• Wikipedia - Virginia Spiderwort
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradescantia
• http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=M620
• USDA PLANTS Database
  http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TRSU2
• Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge Parkway

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