Commelinaceae
Spiderwort Family
Dayflower (Commelina communis). Also called
“Wandering Jew,” and a close relative of the Wandering Jew often found in
supermarket hanging baskets. This is the Asiatic Dayflower: the two upper
petals are pure blue; the lower one is white. Virginia Dayflower, a native
but rarer species probably not found in our area, has a blue lower petal.
The flowers close in the late afternoon; thus the name. We find this
common flower everywhere, blooming all summer till frost; here it was
blooming in a city yard in Beechview.
Spiderwort
(Tradescantia virginiana). A native plant that is perhaps even more
common in gardens than in the wild; the purple to blue flowers with three
equal petals and the linear, almost grasslike leaves are distinctive. The
closest common relatives in our area, the Dayflowers, have three unequal
petals and much shorter leaves. Like Dayflowers, these bloom in the
morning and disappear by the middle of the afternoon.