spiderwort

American  

[spahy-der-wurt, -wawrt] / ˈspaɪ dərˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

noun

1. any plant of the genus Tradescantia, having blue, purple, or rose-colored flowers.

2. any of several related plants.

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spiderwort British  

/ ˈspaɪdəˌwɜːt /

noun

1. any of various plants of the American genus Tradescantia, esp T. virginiana, having blue, purplish, or pink flowers and widely grown as house plants: family Commelinaceae See also tradescantia

2. any of various similar or related plants

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Etymology

Origin of spiderwort

First recorded in 1590–1600; spider + wort ²

Example Sentences

Compound 3-carpellary pistil of Tradescantia or Spiderwort; the three stigmas as well as styles and ovary completely coalescent into one.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa

To see it well in the cell, which like a string of beads form the hairs on the stamens of Spiderwort, a high magnifying power is needed.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa

Here, too, the Spiderwort of our gardens, in a meeker form of beauty and with a paler radiance, luxuriated under the protection of the wood.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 46, August, 1861 by Various

A name given it in a cottage garden in Wayland was Blue Spider-flower, which seems more suited than that of Spiderwort for the Tradescantia.

From Old-Time Gardens Newly Set Forth by Earle, Alice Morse

Spiderwort, like all "three-cornered" flowers, is a flower of mystery; and so little cared for to-day that it is almost extinct in our gardens, save where it persists in out-of-the-way spots.

From Old-Time Gardens Newly Set Forth by Earle, Alice Morse