Tradescantia ohiensis

Tradescantia ohiensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
(unranked):	Commelinids
Order:	Commelinales
Family:	Commelinaceae
Genus:	Tradescantia
Species:	T. ohiensis
Binomial name
Tradescantia ohiensis Raf.

Tradescantia ohiensis, commonly known as bluejacket^[1] or Ohio spiderwort, is an herbaceous plant species in the genus Tradescantia native to eastern + 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.^[2][3][4]

Distinguishing features of the species include glaucous leaves and stems, leaves forming an acute angle with the stems, sepals with hairs lacking glands which are confined to the apex if present at all, and a relatively tall habit (up to about 115 cm). Typical habitats for the plant include roadsides, along railroads, and in fields and thickets. Less typically it can occur in woods, and sometimes along streams. As with many species in the genus, it is often forms hybrids with related species where they co-occur. More specifically, at least nine different species are thought to be capable of forming hybrids with T. ohiensis.^[5]

References

1. "Tradescantia ohiensis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
3. Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map
4. Turner, B.L. (2006). Texas species of Tradescantia (Commelinaceae). Phytologia 88: 312-331.
5. Faden, Robert (2006), "Tradescantia ohiensis", in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+, Flora of North America online, 22, New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 178