# Wandering Jew (the plant) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 25, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492 "2020-02-25T14:43:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/1 "2020-02-25T14:43:06Z")
First off, if I hadn’t mentioned it, would you have known I was referring to a plant? If you’re not familiar, they look like [this](https://gardengoodsdirect.com/products/wandering-jew-plant?variant=22673056432192&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqNPyBRCjARIsAKA-WFyj35Lbxg3KcsJb4kUo9Js1O_6oWErl9huK2z9-0cTlcWc_zw2vumYaAjibEALw_wcB). Anyway, I was in the garden section at Squalmart and was admiring one of these plants. A guy was passing by and commented that it looked like a healthy one. I said I hadn’t seen one in a store or nursery for ages and then I looked at the label and remarked , laughing, “I see they don’t call them wandering jews anymore”. He kind of laughed and proceeded to tell me “it’s just like how we’re not allowed to call Goliath Grouper “Jew Fish” anymore. They called them that because they’d always steal your bait” All I could really say is “good to know”.:dubious: Let me preface this by saying I’m not particularly offended but I don’t think they’re really the same. And I can see how someone could be quite offended so why on earth this guy thought making a crack like that to a perfect stranger was a good idea I cannot imagine. Of course, I commented first about the name of the plant but again, not the same thing. What do you all think? Also, why did these plants disappear for so long? Do they still call them Wandering Jews elsewhere? I had no problem finding them online under that name. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/2 "2020-02-25T14:58:03Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Let me preface this by saying I’m not particularly offended but I don’t think they’re really the same. And I can see how someone could be quite offended so why on earth this guy thought making a crack like that to a perfect stranger was a good idea I cannot imagine. Well, ya know…_people_. They’re not too bright. Wandering Jew is the only name I know that plant by, but I’m not surprised it isn’t the one a nursery would use. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/3 "2020-02-25T15:23:02Z")
Sinc “Wandering Jew” is based on an anti-Semitic legend, it’s not surprising that common name for the plant/genus has fallen out of favor. “Jewfish” also has ugly connotations. “The descriptions of jewfish by Ogilby and Jordan quoted above make it obvious to us. The physical and behavioral characteristics mentioned by them are ones that many jewfishes share: large size, stout body, ugly head with a large mouth, dull color, and sedentary behavior, yet with voracious feeding habits.” > **[The Jewfish and Me](https://garydavidgrossman.medium.com/the-jewfish-and-me-99e34b6a6693)** > > The recent controversy over the Civil War Battle Flag of the Army of Virginia highlights the importance and complexity of symbols in modern… Nice. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/4 "2020-02-25T17:39:26Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Let me preface this by saying I’m not particularly offended but I don’t think they’re really the same. You mentioned an offensive name for a plant, he mentioned an offensive name for a fish. Seems pretty comparable to me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/5 "2020-02-25T17:44:41Z")
Mrs. Plant (v.2.0) who is Jewish said, “It is okay because of the diaspora”. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/6 "2020-02-25T18:56:16Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > You mentioned an offensive name for a plant, he mentioned an offensive name for a fish. Seems pretty comparable to me. I didn’t know the plant name _was offensive_; still not really sure that it is. Comparing a fish to “thieving jews” is a tad harsher, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/7 "2020-02-25T19:01:33Z")
^ This. ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/8 "2020-02-25T19:53:45Z")
The Wandering Jew myth seems pretty offensive to this non-Jew. > **[Wandering Jew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_Jew)** > > The Wandering Jew (occasionally referred to as the Eternal Jew, a calque from German "der Ewige Jude") is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century.\[a\] In the original legend, a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion was then cursed to walk the Earth until the Second Coming. The exact nature of the wanderer's indiscretion varies in different versions of the tale, as do aspects of his character; sometimes he is said to be a shoemaker or other... > [@](#): > > The Wandering Jew is a mythical immortal man whose legend began to spread in Europe in the 13th century.[1] The original legend concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming. The exact nature of the wanderer’s indiscretion varies in different versions of the tale, as do aspects of his character; sometimes he is said to be a shoemaker or other tradesman, while sometimes he is the doorman at the estate of Pontius Pilate. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/9 "2020-02-25T20:09:06Z")
> [@Abner\_Ravenwood](#): > > The Wandering Jew myth seems pretty offensive to this non-Jew. > > [Wandering Jew - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_Jew) I imagine that anything said about Jews in 13th century Europe was offensive. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/10 "2020-02-25T20:40:22Z")
> [@Abner\_Ravenwood](#): > > The Wandering Jew myth seems pretty offensive to this non-Jew. > > [Wandering Jew - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_Jew) Just curious; is that the origin story most people know / have heard? I wasn’t aware of it until today. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/11 "2020-02-25T21:25:10Z")
I also thought it was called that because of the Jewish people’s dispersal across the globe. (That’s what the “diaspora” comment ^^ meant, right?) Hell, I never heard of the “cursed to wander forever” story in the 1st place. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/12 "2020-02-25T22:22:46Z")
The plant that’s known in my area as ‘Wandering Jew’ looks like [this](https://pixers.net.au/wall-murals/tradescantia-a-form-of-wandering-jew-plant-or-spiderwort-12070638) and it’s an evil weed, nobody would ever sell it in a nursery. I pull it out of my garden by the bucketful. People these days tend to call it ‘Wandering Dew’ which sounds nearly identical and is much less offensive (while admittedly making very little sense) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/13 "2020-02-26T01:19:46Z")
My first thought is of the [The Flying Dutchman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Dutchman_(opera)): the captain is cursed, like the Wandering Jew, to live until judgement day. The idea re-occurs in popular culture in ideas like The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and [Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_The_Curse_of_the_Black_Pearl) I also know the name of the weed, so seeing the clarification in the title didn’t surprise me. Naming a weed that’s cursed to wander the garden and not die, after a similarly cursed Semitic villain seems a natural association to me, and yes of course it’s offensive to anybody who associates the term with real people. And it is a weed. All the worst weeds are nice-looking garden plants. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/14 "2020-02-26T02:58:23Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > The plant that’s known in my area as ‘Wandering Jew’ looks like [this](https://pixers.net.au/wall-murals/tradescantia-a-form-of-wandering-jew-plant-or-spiderwort-12070638) and it’s an evil weed, nobody would ever sell it in a nursery. I pull it out of my garden by the bucketful. > > People these days tend to call it ‘Wandering Dew’ which sounds nearly identical and is much less offensive (while admittedly making very little sense) You can buy that as groundcover here in the American Midwest. ---
**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/15 "2020-02-26T03:21:33Z")
Another politically incorrect plant name: [Mother-in-law’s Tongue.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracaena_trifasciata) (Snake Plant) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/16 "2020-02-26T10:23:27Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I said I hadn’t seen one in a store or nursery for ages and then I looked at the label and remarked , laughing, “I see they don’t call them wandering jews anymore”. Wait. So what are the calling this plant now? It’s always been Wandering Jew for as long as I’ve known. Is it just “spiderwort” now? Or “Tradescantia” (which seems to be a genus name for several related plants)? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/17 "2020-02-26T15:07:24Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Wait. So what are the calling this plant now? It’s always been Wandering Jew for as long as I’ve known. Is it just “spiderwort” now? Or “Tradescantia” (which seems to be a genus name for several related plants)? I \*think \*it was Tradescantia. Definitely a scientific name, anyway. As someone who comes from a Jewish family the name doesn’t offend me / never offended anyone I know, so it will remain Wandering Jew for me. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/18 "2020-02-26T16:49:47Z")
[This Tradescantia](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=trvi) is what I have always know as spiderwort. It is a native of the South. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/19 "2020-02-26T17:53:04Z")
[This one](https://www.thespruce.com/tradescantia-care-overview-1902775) is what I’ve always heard referred to as Wandering Jew. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492/20 "2020-02-26T18:27:30Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > [This one](https://www.thespruce.com/tradescantia-care-overview-1902775) is what I’ve always heard referred to as Wandering Jew. This is the one my grandma used to grow. She was VERY Jewish, and never expressed being offended by the name. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wandering-jew-the-plant/848492.md?page=2)