Spotted widow's tears

Description

Tinantia pringlei, sometimes known as the Mexican wandering Jew or Spotted Widow's Tears, is a perennial alpine plant in the dayflower family native to northeastern Mexico. The species is grown as an ornamental plant in temperate areas for its attractive spotted purple foliage and lavender flowers. It is also a common weed of greenhouses. The plants reproduce primarily or exclusively through self-pollination. Tinantia is a genus of plants in the Commelinaceae, first described in 1839. They are commonly called widow's tears or false dayflowers due to their resemblance of the closely related true dayflowers of the genus Commelina. Tinantia is native to North and South America from Texas + Hispaniola to Argentina, with a center of diversity from Mexico to Nicaragua. Tinantia pringlei, an alpine native of Mexico, is grown as an ornamental in temperate areas and is also a common greenhouse weed.