Spring is typically considered the season of flowers in panhandle Florida. While there are blooms during the rest of the year, in the relatively moderate climate of panhandle Florida, it is spring which displays the majority of the blossoms.
It is true that Juan Ponce de Leon named this state, albeit indirectly. He landed somewhere on the eastern seaboard of Florida following a quick hop from Puerto Rico after being removed as governor.
While sailing around to the Gulf of Mexico, the conquistador named the territory La Florida in recognition of the prolific array of flowers. In 1513, the year of his first visit, there were only native species present.
Since then, a number of exotic plants have been introduced to the state as a means of keeping the bloom going year-round. Sometimes to better effect, and sometimes worse.
As it happens, escaped exotics are a major expense for commercial agriculture and home landscapes in contemporary times. The pretty but problematic plants which escaped into the wild have become established in Florida. Unfortunately, there is no eradication, only some level of control.
The early morning visits of pollinators sustain spiderwort’s existence and assure genetic diversity for the species. Their presence in the home landscape guarantees the bees and other beneficial bugs will have a meal waiting.
This reality is the driving impetus behind landscaping with native plants. The indigenous greenery has been here since before recorded history and is adapted to the vagaries of the environment where it flourishes.
One of these colorful natives has the local common name spiderwort. A member of the Tradescantia genus, its common name is used on other species in its genus in other parts of North America.
The term wort, in its various forms, can be traced back to northern Europe well over 1,000 years ago. Its meaning related at first to herbs, and then to plants without bark or hard stems.
It should not be confused with wart, a skin eruption relating to a virus. Contact with any part of the spiderwort does not infect a person, or any other living creature, with warts.
However, some members of the genus will cause a dermatologic reaction in pets. The usual symptoms are redness and itching, especially in dogs and cats.
The spider part of the name relates to the flower peddles. In the harsh sunlight of the afternoon, the spiderwort’s petals are reduced to fine threads similar to a spider’s web.
Spiderworts are often seen along fencerows, in pastures and untended fields, and in forested areas. They bloom from late spring to early summer and usually grow in clumps or bunches of plants.
The plant clumps are easily separated and transplanted. Spiderwort has been used in ornamental horticulture applications as a showy, low-cost alternative for many years.
In wild and landscape settings, they expand their presence slowly but persistently. Their distribution reflects their ability to proliferate.
The local spiderwort, T. ohiensis, is the most widely distributed in North America. Its home range extends from Florida to southern Canada in the eastern half of the country.
When utilized in the home landscape, do not be surprised by volunteer plants appearing in unintended locations. This will include lawns, flowerbeds and planters.
Since there are no herbicides labeled for their control, digging or uprooting will be needed to control the spread. Their root system is relatively shallow and is easily extricated from unwanted sites in the home landscape.
As Ponce de Leon observed, Florida is a great place for flowering plants to proliferate. Fortunately, Spiderwort will bloom even in the dogdays of summer in north Florida.
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