Western Spiderwort

	Western Spiderwort

Western Spiderwort is a perennial species belonging to the Spiderwort or Commelinaceae family. It has a mostly straight stem that bends slightly where each leaf joins. The plant is between 10 and 50 centimetres tall. The plant’s leaves are grasslike and alternate measuring 10 to 30 centimetres long and 0.4 to 1.2 centimetres wide. The leaves are folded lengthwise.

Western Spiderwort produces flowers that are arranged in clusters of up to 25 individual flowers on stalks that hang over in bud. Each flower has three rounded petals that are between seven and 15 millimetres long. The flowers range in colour from rose to blue and may even be white. Within the flower cluster, only one flower opens daily. Very early in the morning it opens, within a few hours it closes, wilts and the petals are shed.

The fruit is an oblong capsule divided into three parts. Each part produces one or two grey seeds that measure two to four millimetres long.

Spiderwort plants derive their name from the sticky, stringy material that they secrete when their stem is broken. Once this sticky substance hardens, it forms a cobweb-like material.

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