can become a reseeding nightmare in some gardens ... other peeps say no ...

flowers bud.. seeds pod???

ken

In this picture you are seeing the flower bud emerging from the center of the leaves. In my garden it attempts to self-seed. but the soil isn't attractive to these seeds for germination. So I don't see spiderwort as a problem. I see it as a valued member of the flower garden. Heidi

Windberry, what is the feature that points to virginiana species but not ohiensis or other grassy species of Tradescantia?

That strongly glaucous stem does indicate T. ohiensis, as Tiffany suggested. T. virginiana stems are not glaucous, and its inflorescence should be pilose.

I agree with Xiangirl, it is edible spiderwort, i just got 2 from a friend who uses it in her cooking and the flower looks exactly the same, will open up to be light purple

The Spiderwort id is not in question. The flowers look similar on them all. It's the precise species of Tradescantia which is under discussion now, if the OP wants that degree of detail. Jekeesl has given pointers on what to look for if the OP is interested.

eta .. this is in response to GrowinFlorida's post identifying this plant as 'edible spiderwort'.

Tiffany said: "Windberry, what is the feature that points to virginiana species but not ohiensis or other grassy species of Tradescantia?"

Yes, I agree it could be something else than T. virginiana. I suppose I was too rush saying it was. Thanks, Tiffany, for questioning my id.

I'm sorry if it read that way. I wasn't questioning the ID, just wanting help to see the characteristic that indicates which species. ;) Jekeesl is usually helpful for that kind of thing, and came through for us again here. ;)