Tradescantia fluminensis (wandering Jew)

Tradescantia fluminensis (wandering Jew)
Perennial creeping herb, with salient nodes and bright dark green leaves.
Scientific name: Tradescantia fluminensis Velloso.
Common names: wandering Jew, white-flowered spiderwort, small-leaf spiderwort, wandering creeper
Family: Commelinaceae
Status in Portugal: invasive species (listed in the annex I of Decreto-Lei n° 565/99, 21 December)
Risk Assessment score: (in development)
Synonymy: Tradescantia albiflora Kunth
Last update: 11/07/2014
Como reconhecer
Perennial creeping herb with long stems, that
fragment somewhat easily and root on the nodes.
Leaves: from 3-8 cm, ovate to oblong-ovate; acute,
somewhat succulent, bright green on the upper
surface and sometime purplish on the lower surface.
Flowers: white or light purple, with 7-12 mm, with
small groups of flowers; slim pedicels of 1-2 cm.
Fruits: capsules with 3 valves that contain black seeds.
Flowering: May to July.
Similar species
Close-up of ovate to acute leaves
In Portugal there are several cultivars of different colours, but they all belong to the same species.
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Tradescantia fluminensis (wandering Jew)
Characteristics that aid invasion
It propagates vegetatively; small stem fragments, that include one or more nodes that easily root and
originate a new plant.
It also propagates by seed, although less frequently.
ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION
Native distribution area
South America (from the southeast of Brazil to
Argentina).
Distribution in Portugal
Mainland Portugal (Minho, Douro Litoral, Beira
Litoral, Beira Alta, Estremadura, Alto Alentejo,
Baixo Alentejo), Madeira archipelago (Madeira
islands).
Other places where the species is invasive
Countries of southern Europe (Spain, France, Italy),
USA (Florida), Australia, New Zealand, several
islands of the Pacific.
Introduction reasons
For ornamental purposes.
Preferential invasion environments
Shaded and humid places, being very common on the understory of managed forests, natural woods,
riparian areas, disturbed and urban areas. It continues to be planted in gardens.
Although it develops better in shaded areas, it also appears in locations with light and a lot of nitrates.
It doesn’t tolerate ice and droughts diminish its vigour.
IMPACTS
Impacts on ecosystems
It is a persistent species that forms continuous mats, impeding the development of native vegetation
(mainly herbaceous).
Economic impacts
High costs in the application of control methodologies.
Natura 2000 network habitats more subject to impacts

Arborescent matorral with Laurus nobilis (5230);

Sub-Atlantic and medio-European oak or oak-hornbeam forests of the Carpinion betuli (9160).
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Tradescantia fluminensis (wandering Jew)
CONTROL
Controlling an invasive species demands a well-planned management, which includes the determination
of the invaded area, identifying the causes of invasion, assessing the impacts, defining the intervention
priorities, selecting the adequate control methodologies and their application. Afterwards it is
fundamental to monitor the efficiency of the methodologies and recuperation of the intervened area as
to perform, whenever necessary, the follow-up control.
The control methodologies used for Tradescantia fluminensis include :
Physical control
Hand pulling: preferential methodology for small invaded areas. In more compacted substrates, hand
pulling must be made during the rainy as to facilitate the removal of the root system. As much as
possible, it should be guaranteed that there are no large fragments left in the ground.
Soil Solarisation. It’s an alternative to hand pulling, mainly in extensive areas that are invaded by the
species. It should be guaranteed that no native species are affected.
Chemical control
Foliar application of herbicide. Spray with herbicide (active substance: glyphosate, triclopyr) limiting its
application to the target species.
For additional information, visit the webpage www.invasoras.pt and/or contact us at invader@uc.pt.
REFERENCES
CABI (2012) Tradescantia fluminensis. In: Invasive Species Compendium. CAB International, Wallingford, UK. Available:
www.cabi.org/isc [Retrieved 10/11/2012].
Gallastegui MH, Prieto JAC (2010) Flora alóctona invasora en Bizkaia. Instituto para la Sostenibilidad de Bizkaia, Vizkaya, 196pp.
Marchante E, Freitas H, Marchante H (2008) Guia prático para a identificação de plantas invasoras de Portugal Continental.
Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, 183pp.
USDA, NRCS. (2012) The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. Available: http://
plants.usda.gov [Retrieved 10/11/2012].
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