Tradescantia fluminensis

Common Name: white-flowered wandering jew

Family: Commelinaceae

Common Synonyms: Tradescantia albiflora

USDA Hardiness Zone: 10a-11

Growth Habit: Forb/Herb

Origin: South America

FISC Category: 1

FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: No

Introduction Date: Earliest Florida specimen available vouchered in 1952

IFAS Assessment:

• North: INVASIVE
• Central: INVASIVE
• South: OK

Description

White-flowered wandering jew is a perennial herb that can easily form a mat as the ground cover. It has alternate leaves, has parallel veins, and is green. The leaves are 5 cm long and 2 cm wide. The flowers are white in color and form at the tip of the stem.

Habitat

North Florida, primarily in bottomland forests. Moist, disturbed hammocks

Comments

Spreads vegetatively. Escaped from cultivation.

Control Methods

• Manual: Manual: Hand weeding is suitable for removal of small infestations. Be certain to remove all fragments, as these will reroot and reinfest an area. (IFAS)
• Chemical: 10% Triclopyr ester 61.6% L (low volume) applied to bud (IFAS)
• Biological: NA

Control Notes

NA

References

IFAS. 2011. Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WG/WG20900.pdf Accessed June 13 2017.

Langeland, K.A., H.M. Cherry, C.M. McCormick, K.C. Burks. 2008. Identification and Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas-Second Edition. IFAS Publication SP 257. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

IFAS. 2017. White-flowered wandering jew, Tradescantia fluminensis. http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/tradescantia-fluminensis/. Accessed June 13, 2017.

Wunderlin, Richard P., and Bruce F. Hansen. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. 3rd ed. Gainesville, FL: U of Florida, 2011.