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Sunday, July 6, 2008

A search for succulents!

I will be on the hunt for a few succulents to post about on my vacation. Here in Tifton, Georgia this morning, I found only these really pretty, yet invasive little gems outside our hotel! I happen to L-O-V-E them not only for their gorgeous deep purple color, and their sweetest-of-sweet blooms, but also for their compact, small selves. What great impact they can make in large patches all clumped together! The ones here are sparce, but I took a few close-ups of the flowers out in the morning dew, just because they are so adorable!

Tradescantia pallida

Though sometimes accounted a weed, spiderwort is cultivated for borders and also used in containers. Where it appears as a volunteer, it is often welcomed and allowed to stay.

Interesting facts I found on Wikipedia:

The genus takes its name from John Tradescant the elder, an 17th century English plant collector and nurseryman.

The cells of the stamen hairs of some Tradescantia are colored blue, but when exposed to sources of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, the cells mutate and change color to pink; they are one of the few tissues known to serve as an effective bioassay for ambient radiation levels.

That is interesting! I did not know that!

3 comments:

Tootsie said...

will you be smuggling one home in a suticase? lol have a great trip

Ashraf sharif said...

very nice your photo
and me like this plant

Ashraf Al Shafaki said...

I'm growing it in Egypt in my balcony. I like its unique texture felt upon touching its leaves.

Here are photos of the one I grow in Egypt from my Arabic blog:
http://mazra3a.blogspot.com/2008/04/blog-post_17.html