Tradescantia fluminensis Vell., Commelinaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: small-leaf spiderwort, spiderwort, wandering Jew

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Trailing perennial with succulent stems, rooting readily at nodes, ascending above.  Leaves 3-6 cm long, ovate-elliptic, acute, shining, very shortly petioled, leaf- and petiole-margins ciliate; sheaths 5-10 mm long, loosely clasping, hyaline, obviously ciliate.  Flowers several in umbels with 2 unequal leaf-like bracts; pedicels slender, to 1.5 cm long; sepals green, c. 7 mm long, ovate, hairy on keel; petals white, delicate, c. 10 mm long, ovate to elliptic. T. fluminensis is recognised by the ± succulent, trailing, rooting stems, ciliate leaf sheaths, and 3 acute white petals"  (Healy & Edgar, 1980; pp. 39-40).

"Prostrate, rooting at the nodes; leaves oblong to oblong-ovate, 3-7 cm long, acute, glabrous; sheath hairy at summit; umbels many-flowered, subtended by 2 lance-ovate bracts; petals white, 6 mm long, filaments hairy" (Munz & Keck, 1959; p. 1325).

Habitat/ecology:  In California, "common in cultivation and becoming naturalized in damp places" (Munz & Keck, 1959; p. 1325). In New Zealand, "established in damp shaded places—waste land, domestic gardens, under willows etc. along river and stream banks and in some localities forms dense ± succulent communities in forest remnants and damaged forest near settlement, especially in areas damaged by cattle trampling. Wandering Jew competes with and often suppresses indigenous ground layer ferns, herbs, and young plants of shrubs and trees, and inhibits growth of seedlings" (Healy & Edgar, 1980; pp. 39-40).

Propagation:  Rooting from pieces and cuttings. "Seeds and broken pieces of stems are sometimes dispersed by flood waters, initiating further infestions downstream" (Healy & Edgar, 1980; pp. 39-40).

Native range:  South America (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay) (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 22) "Escaped from cultivation in a few places". Voucher cited: J. Pickard 3476 (NSW)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Volcán Alcedo, Isabela Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R./Imada, Clyde T. (2006) (pp. 6-7) Vouchers cited: D. Herbst 9877 (BISH), Imada & Arakaki 99-48 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R./Imada, Clyde T. (2006) (pp. 6-7) Voucher cited: H. Oppenheimer et al. H-40202 (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 49)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2009) Naturalized
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, E. (1092) (p. 110)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. (1980) (p. 39) Voucher cited: H. Carse (AK 95206)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Owen, S. J. (1997)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 364)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced invasive	Munz, P. A./Keck, D. D. (1959) (p. 1325)

Comments:  Reported to be invasive in the Canary Islands.

Control: 

Physical:  "Small infestations can be removed by hand.  Larger infestations are removed by raking or rolling up the plants.  Killing by solarization is used in warmer locations, the plastic sheeting should last for 2-6 weeks".

Chemical:  "An effective herbicide is paraquat.  Follow-up treatments are necessary to control regrowth"  (Weber, 2003; p. 436).

Biological: See Standish, 2001.

Additional information:
Photos and additional information at the Environment Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, web site of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Information from the book "Identification and biology of non-native plants in Florida's natural areas" (PDF format).
Fact sheet from the Government of Queensland, Australia. (PDF format).

Additional online information about Tradescantia fluminensis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Tradescantia fluminensis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Tradescantia fluminensis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Hafliger, E. 1092. Monocot Weeds 3. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 132 pp. plus plates.

Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. 1980. Flora of New Zealand, Volume III: Adventive cyperaceous, petalous & spathaceous monocotyledons. Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand. 220 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

Langeland, K. A./Burks, K. Craddock. eds. 1998. Identification and biology of non-native plants in Florida's natural areas. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida. 165 pp.

Munz, P. A./Keck, D. D. 1959. A California flora. U. Cal. Press.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Owen, S. J. 1997. Ecological weeds on conservation land in New Zealand: A database. Working draft. Wellington, New Zealand. Department of Conservation.

Standish, R. J. 2001. Prospects for biological control of Tradescantia fluminensis Vell. (Commelinaceae). DOC Science Internal Series 9. Department of Conservation, New Zealand. 24 pp.

Standish, R. J./Robertson, A. W./Williams, P. A. 2001. The impact of an invasive weed Tradescantia fluminensis on native forest regeneration. Journal of Applied Ecology 38:1253-1263.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R./Imada, Clyde T. 2006. New Hawaiian plant records for 2004. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 88:6-9.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U. S. Government. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.