Each flower lives only one day, but each plant produces 20 or more flowers per stem. The sap has a viscous quality and can be stretched between your fingers like a thread of spider silk. Maybe this is where the name came from. Plus it’s also called Cow Slobber and I guess that could be related. The stems, leaves and flowers are edible, raw or added to stew. The flowers can garnish your salad! The spiderwort genus is named after John Tradescant, who was a gardener for King Charles I of England (1600-1649). Spiderwort seeds were brought back from the new world, and he planted them and popularized spiderworts. Love the curly purple stems.

Spiderwort, Cow Slobber (Tradescantia sp.)