Tharp's Spiderwort

Herbs, erect or ascending, rarely rooting at nodes. Stems absent or 2--7 cm in flower, to 20 cm in fruit, shaggy pilose to villous. Leaves: blade green, linear-lanceolate, 4--30 ´ 0.9--2.5 cm (distal leaf blades equal to or narrower than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), margins frequently clear or edged with rose, laxly and irregularly pilose or villous. Inflorescences terminal, solitary; bracts foliaceous, well developed, not saccate, sparsely to densely pilose. Flowers distinctly pedicillate; pedicels 4--6 cm, laxly pilose; sepals usually purple or rose-colored (rarely pale green), not inflated, 1.2--1.6 cm, uniformly eglandular-pilose; petals distinct, deep rose or purple, or frequently blue, broadly ovate, not clawed, 1.8--2.2 cm; stamens free; filaments bearded. Capsules 5--7 mm. Seeds 2--3 mm. 2n = 24.

Flowering spring. Clay soils of rocky prairies and open woodlands; Kans., Mo., Okla., Tex.

Tradescantia tharpii, the shortstem spiderwort or spider lily, is a species of flowering plant in the family Commelinaceae, native to the central United States. It is small for its genus, reaching only 8–12 in (20–30 cm). It is recommended for shady naturalistic settings.