# What happened to the wandering jews? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2016, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633 "2016-09-23T12:37:23Z")\ **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:** [September 23, 2016, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/1 "2016-09-23T12:37:23Z")
[The plant that is](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eaKbvlcIK10/SNUMdsXbKZI/AAAAAAAACn4/GKLDaBq5wFs/s400/zebrina+pendula+(own)5.jpg) 😃 These used to be ubiquitous. Anywhere plants are sold these used to be a standard and I have been unable to locate them anywhere around here. As far as I know they are not seasonal and they sure as heck aren’t rare. Has anyone else noticed a shortage of our green and purple friends? ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/2 "2016-09-23T12:56:53Z")
They used to be quite common. I remember seeing them growing in the soil UNDER benches in commercial greenhouses. It was easy to pot them up, just reach down and grab few up by the roots and slam 'em in a hanging basket. I rarely see them anymore, in hb’s or as smaller potted plants. Do the growers feel there’s no money in them? Do they think enough people have them and they give out cuttings to friends? The same could be asked about Swedish Ivy or Grape Ivy or Moses-in-a-Boat or Tahitian Bridal Veil? All gone with the wind, and sales, of yesteryear? ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/3 "2016-09-23T13:01:21Z")
It can’t be that they think everyone has them; why do they still sell spider plants? ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/4 "2016-09-23T17:00:28Z")
I always called [Tradescantia fluminensis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Tradescantia_fluminensis_(Flowers).jpg) “Wandering Jew”. It is a weed in central Arkansas. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/5 "2016-09-23T17:24:44Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] It can’t be that they think everyone has them; why do they still sell spider plants? [/QUOTE] Ask anyone who’s grown them - why do they still sell zucchini seeds? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/6 "2016-09-23T17:43:40Z")
They[resumed old acquaintances and step out occasionally](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ425RKCqco)… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/7 "2016-09-23T19:11:04Z")
I wondered this recently myself. I never see them any more yet 40 years ago it was one of the most common houseplants around. Also my personal favorite was purple velvet. I never see those any more. I had them for years. In strong sunlight they would get strikingly purple, and I always thought they were really pretty plants. If you let them go they would bloom small yellow flowers that smelled just like cat shit. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/8 "2016-09-23T19:27:12Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > If you let them go they would bloom small yellow flowers that smelled just like cat shit. I wonder if that keeps wandering Jew predators away. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/9 "2016-09-23T21:30:19Z")
The [purple Tradescantia pallida](http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=1560) is still a popular garden perennial in milder areas and I see it grown as a house plant. And not to be a wet blanket, but the common name “wandering Jew” evokes an anti-Semitic legend and is best avoided. I have [a variegated form](http://www.logees.com/variegated-moses-in-the-cradle-tradescantia-spathacea-variegata.html) of Moses-in-the-boat/cradle and it’s a nice easy-to-grow plant. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/10 "2016-09-23T22:39:28Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > And not to be a wet blanket, but the common name “wandering Jew” evokes an anti-Semitic legend and is best avoided. My ex wife, an authentic Long Island Jew, said it is ok, “Because it refers to 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:** [September 24, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/11 "2016-09-24T02:00:49Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > And not to be a wet blanket, but the common name “wandering Jew” evokes an anti-Semitic legend and is best avoided. I appreciate your advice and take it in the spirit in which it is given. Being a Jew myself, I respectfully say “Bah”. Every freakin’ thing doesn’t \*have \*to be perceived as offensive. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/12 "2016-09-24T02:32:49Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I appreciate your advice and take it in the spirit in which it is given. Being a Jew myself, I respectfully say “Bah”. Every freakin’ thing doesn’t \*have \*to be perceived as offensive. A Jewish person who agrees with my Conservative former wife? You amaze me, Sir! 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 24, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/13 "2016-09-24T02:49:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > A Jewish person who agrees with my Conservative former wife? You amaze me, Sir! > 🙂 That’s Ma’am to you 🙂 and I honor my Jewish heritage and forbearers but what can I say; they were all quite relaxed and had a grand sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Wheeljack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@Wheeljack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheeljack)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/14 "2016-09-24T03:09:33Z")
I’ve got a few big ones in the alley behind my garage. They seem to thrive on neglect; I’ve never fertilized or watered them, and the lawn mower keeps them in check. One variety is sold under the name “purple queen”. ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/15 "2016-09-24T10:25:48Z")
Plants go through cycles of popularity, just like other consumer items. That’s one of the reasons old hybrids of, say, Gloxinias and African violets are so hard to find. For what it’s worth, though, purple Wandering Jews are pretty commonly sold as an annual filler plant here in Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/16 "2016-09-24T12:25:44Z")
I’ve also heard it referred to as “wandering sailor”. But it can get leggy and untidy-looking pretty quickly, which may explain why it’s not so much in favour. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/17 "2016-09-24T15:46:12Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > My ex wife, an authentic Long Island Jew, said it is ok, “Because it refers to the Diaspora.” Nope. _“The Wandering Jew is a figure in Christian mythology who is doomed to wander the Earth until the Second Coming, for rebuffing or striking Christ during his trip to Calvary to be crucified. The first recorded variation of the Wandering Jew archetype appeared in the writings of Roger of Wendover, a monk of St. Albans. In this version, he converted to Christianity and has since lived a godly life. However, the legend served to re-enforce the idea that Jews are a people cursed by God. It has been claimed that the prevalence of the Wandering Jew myth, and the accompanying belief that it proved that Jews were wicked, was a direct cause of antisemitic violence during the Middle Ages. The Wandering Jew was also adopted as a symbol by German antisemites in the nineteenth century. Tragically, this led to the Wandering Jew being used as propaganda in the Nazi Party.”_ [http://antisemitism.org.il/article/82166/top-10-antisemitic-legends-and-stereotypes](http://antisemitism.org.il/article/82166/top-10-antisemitic-legends-and-stereotypes) And that’s my last word on the subject of a popular plant name overdue for retirement. Tradescantias (named for John Tradescant, a renowned English naturalist) are fine house plants and I still see them (mostly T. zebrina) on sale in plant shops and home improvement centers. They are easy to care for (compared to spider plants, for instance, which often suffer from Brown Leaf Tip Syndrome). ---
**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:** [September 24, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/18 "2016-09-24T23:17:45Z")
Two Jews will give three opinions on a question. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/19 "2016-09-25T03:32:51Z")
I saw a ton of them in the houseplant section of Lowe’s in Sunnyvale CA this week 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633/20 "2016-09-25T03:38:05Z")
I think houseplants in general are on the decline as more people keep their pets indoors while they are at work. Used to be you let the dog or cat out all day and went to work or school, but now they stay in, and chew on houseplants, or knock them around, and get everything dirty. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-wandering-jews/766633.md?page=2)