3. Tradescantia longipes E.S. Anderson &
Woodson (wild crocus, dwarf
spiderwort)
Pl.
28 f; Map 109
Stems 2B10 cm long, densely long-hairy. Blades of the
leaves and bracts 14B25 cm long, linear, as broad as or narrower than
the sheaths, deep green, irregularly hairy, especially toward the tips. Flower
stalks 30B60 mm long, conspicuously pubescent with a mixture of
nonglandular and minutely gland-tipped hairs. Sepals 8B10 mm long, green,
often pink- or purple-tinged, herbaceous or somewhat membranous, densely
pubescent with a mixture of nonglandular and minutely gland-tipped hairs, these
often somewhat sticky when fresh. Petals 10B15 mm long, bright
purple or reddish pink, less commonly blue or light pink. 2n=24. AprilBMay.
Restricted to the eastern half of the Ozark and
Ozark Border Divisions (Missouri, Arkansas, more or less endemic to the
Ozarks). Rocky, mesic upland to dry upland forests in ravines and on ridges;
less commonly along the edges of glades and old fields, on acidic substrates.
This species hybridizes uncommonly with T.
ohiensis in the state.