Spiderwort – Tradescantia zebrina (Zebrina pendula)

Common Name: Wandering Jew, Spider-Lily, Spiderwort

Botanical Name: Tradescantia zebrina (Zebrina pendula), trad-es-KAN-shi-a ze-BRI-na

Decorative Life: Many months to years. Any flowers that may be produced each last only about one day. During this period they can produce significant amounts of ethylene.

Flower Color: Blue, Pink, Purple, Violet, White

Availability: Year Round

• Named after John Tradescant (1608-1662), a British naturalist, gardener, traveler and plant collector.
• Some in the floral or nursery trade and/or consumers may know this species better as Zebrina pendula.
• Light compensation points alone do not accurately judge this species’ ability to adapt to low light intensities.

As summarized by Brown (1988) of the work by Wolverton et al. (numerous years), this is one of many foliage and flowering plant species that can remove air pollutants such as formaldehyde and/or benzene often found in cigarette smoke from interior environments.