A closer look at a bluejacket flower, with its bead-like hairs (moniliform) along the filaments (stalks) for the anthers (pollen sacs), will amaze. One theory is that these "spidery" hairs give the plant one of its common names: spiderwort.
Bluejacket is an erect or ascending, perennial, herbaceous plant growing 1 to 4 feet tall. Its showy, blue to violet to pink flowers have both male and female parts, and occur singly to clustered at the top of a leafy stem. The flowers are insect-pollinated.
Bluejacket is adapted to a wide range of soil types, growing in full to partial sun, and found on dry to moist sites, including wetlands. It is found on prairies, disturbed sites, meadows, thickets, open woods and woodland borders, and travel corridors.
Bluejacket is a USA-NPN regional plant species. Regional species are ecologically or economically important and are distributed more locally than calibration species. The USA-NPN integrates these observations to better understand plant responses within the different geographic regions of the nation.
If drought seems to be the cause of leaf senescence for a plant, please make a comment to that effect.
Do you see...?
Initial growth New growth of the plant is visible, either from above-ground buds with green tips, or new green or white shoots breaking through the soil surface. Growth is considered "initial" on each bud or shoot until the first leaf has fully unfolded. More...
Leaves One or more live fully unfolded leaves are visible on the plant. For seedlings, consider only true leaves and do not count the one or two small, round leaves (cotyledons) that are found on the stem almost immediately after the seedling emerges. Do not include dried or dead leaves. More...
Flowers One or more fresh flowers or flower heads (inflorescences) are visible on the plant. Flower heads include many small flowers that usually do not open all at once. Do not include wilted or dried flowers that remain on the plant, or heads whose flowers have all wilted or dried.
How many fresh flowers or flower heads are present?
Less than 3
3 to 10
More than 10
Open flowers One or more open fresh flowers are visible on the plant. Flowers are considered "open" when the reproductive parts (male stamens or female pistils) are visible between unfolded or open flower parts. Do not include wilted or dried flowers that remain on the plant.
How many fresh flowers are open?
Fruits One or more fresh fruits are visible on the plant.
How many fresh fruits are present?
Ripe fruits One or more ripe fruits are visible on the plant.
How many fruits are ripe?
Recent fruit drop One or more fresh mature fruits or seeds have dropped or been removed from the plant since your last visit. Do not include obviously immature fruits that have dropped before ripening, such as in a heavy rain or wind.
How many mature fruits have dropped?
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