Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)

Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis)

Spiderwort is one of Louisiana’s most cheerful and adaptable native wildflowers — a clump-forming perennial that produces a continuous succession of three-petaled blue-violet flowers from spring through early summer. Each flower lasts only a single morning, but new blooms open daily for weeks, creating a long season of color in meadows, roadsides, and garden borders across the Gulf South.

Botanical Profile

• Family: Commelinaceae (Spiderwort family)
• Native Range: Eastern and central North America from Massachusetts to Florida and west to Nebraska; native to Louisiana roadsides, meadows, and open woodland margins
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 4–9
• Mature Size: 2–3 feet tall
• Bloom Time: March–June
• Sun: Full sun to part shade
• Soil: Adaptable; tolerates dry to moist, clay to sandy soils

Traditional Uses

Spiderwort was used as a food plant by numerous Indigenous peoples — young leaves and stems were eaten raw or cooked as a potherb. The Cherokee used root preparations for kidney ailments and as a laxative. The plant’s stamen hairs are famously sensitive to radiation and have been used as a biological indicator of environmental contamination.

Ecological Role

Spiderwort is an important early-season nectar and pollen source for native bees, particularly bumblebees. Its flowers are visited by specialist native bees that collect only blue pollen. It provides ground cover that suppresses weeds and stabilizes soil.

In the Cajun Prairie Garden

Part of the Prairie Movement Strip collection at Big Mamou Enterprises, Spiderwort is a low-maintenance native wildflower that brings weeks of color and ecological value to any Louisiana garden.