Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Tradescantia occidentalis [Tradescantia virginiana var. occidentalis]
Family
Commelinaceae
CommonName
prairie spiderwort
Presence
yes
Status
native, escaped, commercial
EarliestDate
1986
LatestDate
2019
Ecosystem
basin, montane, ruderal
Geobotanical
NCristos, UBasin
Counties
Alamosa, Saguache
Passes
WildlifePreserves
Other Localities
Comments
NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. Prairie spiderwort has one voucher for the Watershed: McFadden’s pond, about 1 mile north of US 160 on Baca Lane, NE of Alamosa (Alamosa Co, 1986). There is a second observation: alongside Spruce St. in Creston (Saguache Co, 2019; iNaturalist #28096161)—probably escaped. Tradescantia occidentalis is native to the Colorado Plains, and there are native collections from the east side of the Cristos north of La Veta Pass, in the San Juan River drainage of Colorado west of the Divide, and in nearly all the counties of New Mexico, including those bordering Colorado. It is sometimes cultivated, however, and both the Alamosa and Creston occurrences might have been escapes. The USA distribution is extensive, covering the Intermountain region, the Rockies, the Great Plains, the northern Great Plains, and Louisiana and Mississippi. The species follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico and Texas to the Gulf of Mexico.