an online inventory/mapping of various plants (including natural varieties, cultivars and hybrids) from the family Commelinaceae. Along with photographs, classification and botanical information. Genera include and are not limited to: Aneilema, Belosynapsis, Callisia, Cochliostema, Coleotrype, Commelina, Cyanotis, Dichorisandra, Floscopa, Geogenanthus, Gibasis, Murdannia, Palisota, Pollia, Siderasis, Tinantia, Tradescantia, Weldenia.
Tradescantia zebrina var. tikal A T. zebrina with natural variegation that does not revert
Variegation in botany : definition
(1) Variegation in general. Variegation simply refers to a variety of color, usually of a leaf or flower, but stems/trunk, branches and even seeds can be variegated as well. In most cases, the cause of the variegation is difference in the amount of pigment (often chlorophyll) in the plant's structure, anywhere from a total lack, resulting in white to pale yellow coloration (depending on the quantity of the xanthophyllic pigments in the leaf--those without any xanthophyllic contribution will be completely white), to a subtle difference, resulting in various shades of green or another color if another chemical coloration is involved. Plants with petals, carpals or leaves that have multiple colors, even if none are white, are still called variegated. Sometimes the variegation is only a variation in the amount of anthocyanins (usually the basis for most red, purple or pink coloration) and there is no lack of chloroplast output. And sometimes it is a combination of both, as one can see in the incredible variation of colors in the bromeliads, Coleus, Tradescantia cultivars and Huechera varieties.
(2) Yellow and white variegation. Variegated leaves with yellow or white variegation occur rarely in nature. Species with these variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the source of a number of variegated houseplants.
(3) Viral induced variegation. Infection by a virus can also be a cause of variegation, and this has been studied by scientists, such as in case of the Tobacco Mosaic Virus. in the Commelinaceae family, a virus-induced variegation is believed to be the cause for the yellow variegated Tradescantia cerinthoides aka: Tradescantia cerinthoides f. glabra 'Aureovariegata'.
The variegated zebrinas'
Currently there are six variegated zebrinas both with natural variegation that doesn't revert, and there are also cultivars with white or yellow variegation, where in two of them the variegation will be lost when they are kept in low light for a prolonged period of time.
Tradescantia zebrina - table listing the variegated varieties and cultivars
Tradescantia zebrina with natural variegation
Tradescantia zebrina with white/yellow variegation (cultivars)
Tradescantia zebrina var. mollipila
Tradescantia zebrina var. discolor 'Multicolor'
Tradescantia zebrina var. mollipila 'Purple Plush'
Tradescantia zebrina 'Quadricolor'
Tradescantia zebrina var. tikal
Tradescantia zebrina 'Danny Lee'
The zebrinas' with naturally occurred variegation do not lose their variegation. The cultivars with white/yellow variegation may revert back to green when kept in low light, with the exception of the Tradescantia zebrina 'Quadricolor', since most of the times, the seemingly variegated green branches will develop again the variegated pattern, when exposed in bright light. More information on each of these Tradescantia zebrina plants (and more) can be found on another post: Tradescantia zebrina : varieties, cultivars, hybrids.
Tradescantia zebrina var. discolor 'Multicolor' this highly variegated cultivar will unfortunately lose its variegation and it will revert to a discolor zebrina with faint silver stripes on the green leaves, when exposed in much lower light for a prolonged period of time.
A Tradescantia zebrina var. discolor 'Multicolor' branch with almost complete lack of chlorophyll. Without chlorophyll plants cannot grow on their own. They can only grow for some time when attached to the mother plant.
Synonyms: Mandonia boliviana; Skofitzia boliviana; Tradescantia ambigua var. pilosula[1, 4]
Heterotypic synonym: Tradescantia ambigua var. pilosula[1]
Homotypic synonym: Skofitzia boliviana[1]
Leaf-texture: pilosulus (somewhat fuzzy)
The Tradescantia boliviana is a relatively recently discovered botanical species in the Commelinaceae family, native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru. It was firstly described in 2004 (Jason R. Grant) as a new species, with distinctively different characteristics than the Tradescantia ambigua[2, 3].
Description
The small narrow and pilosulus (somewhat fuzzy) leaves have a thin orange border and are slightly jagged at the edge of the leaf. The edge of the leaves is also recurvifolius (having a wavy form; see last image for more) and the arrangement of the leaves is alternate, one leaf per node and at an angle approx 90°.
It’s a summer growing perennial, which needs strictly and completely a dry winter dormancy. It needs full sun to remain upright and then masses of medium sized fuchsia triangular flowers appear along the shoots, very attractive.
Photographic material
Summer growth and colors.
Summer growth and colors.
Summer growth and colors. This plant has thick tuberous roots
Tradescantia boliviana: winter growth. The small narrow leaves are slightly fuzzy with an orange border on the edge of the leaf, when exposed in bright light.
Tradescantia boliviana: winter growth. Small narrow fuzzy leaves with thin purple stems.
Winter growth.
Some tips on identification: The edge of the leaves is jagged and alsorecurvifolius(having a wavy form [1]). And the arrangement of the leaves is alternate, one leaf per node and at an angle approx 90° [2].
hirtus, -a, -um refers to the hairiness of the plant.
Just like every other Tradescantia, they are easy to get them to root in water, in sphagnum moss, or directly into the soil.
Tradescantia hirta is a botanical species from NE Mexico, in the family Commelinaceae. Its characteristic are the thin stems covered with hairs. And also, it's a rarely seen Tradescantia species that forms tear-drop bulbs that sit on top of the soil, in clusters.
Tradescantia buckleyi: in bloom, at her winter colors.
Here she is with her natural greyish colors (exposed in bright light during summertime). When exposed in lower light (during winter) the foliage turns green, but when exposed again in bright light her natural greyish colors appear again.
Tradescantia buckleyi is a botanical species (natural variety) in the Commelinaceae family.
Tradescantia zebrina var. tikal: the rarest and the most beautiful zebrina, is making it difficult for us.
updated: 10 August 2021
The Tradescantia zebrina var. tikal is a naturally occuring variety near Tikal, Mexico. It resembles somewhat to the mollipila but the leaves are larger, less round, mostly in arrow-shape, with vivid purple stripes on both sides of the leaf.
Is this yet another infraspecific?
Since this is a naturally occurring plant with such distinct pattern, it seems so. It's just that the plants in the genus Tradescantia are proliferating and the botanists can't catch up with their classification. At the time of writing, there are three accepted infraspecifics in the zebrina genus at the POWO website:
Tradescantia zebrina var. flocculosa (G.Brückn.) D.R.Hunt
Tradescantia zebrina var. mollipila D.R.Hunt
Tradescantia zebrina var. zebrina
Therefore, I believe what we have here is a pending classification.
By the way, I have seen this plant written with single (or even double) quotes, but the single quotes are indicating a cultivar, not a naturally occurring variety.
This naturally occurring zebrina variety was rescued from its natural habitat in Mexico, but unfortunately it carries a kind of bacterial infection. This infection is a rare case, since it is mostly active during winter but with the warmer summer temperatures the plant seems to be doing fine. This is quite the opposite from what we see in most of the bacterial infections, which are most active during warmer temperatures, just the opposite from what we have here. This infection doesn't seem to be contagious, it's just that during low temperatures the plant loses its colors and it grows slower (mostly green) with a few (the typical zebrina) stripes here and there with a broken pattern. When exposed again to the higher temperatures in summer, it appears to grow normal again. At the moment, everyone that has a Tradescantia zebrina var. tikal in their collection, has the same infected clone. Experienced Commelinaceae collectors have not managed to determine (and reverse) the course of that viral infection. TS (Tissue Culture) might be an option to try and clear this natural variety from that viral - yet harmless - infection. The best solution however - if it is possible - would be to start all over with a freshly new specimen - pathogen free - from another location.
This is how the plant looks in the growing season, seemingly healthy.
I have noticed that - at least in the Netherlands and perhaps elsewhere - the Tradescantia mundula is labeled and sold as Tradescantia fluminensis. Especially in the Netherlands, there's a great confusion with the illegitimate cultivar name 'Green Hill'. That cultivar name has been created and widely circulated from a Dutch nursery. At first they labeled the plants they sale as Tradescantia fluminensis 'Green Hill' and then they changed it to: Tradescantia 'Green Hill'. This plant however is the Tradescantia mundula which is a botanical species (not a cultivar) and it was first described by Kunth in 1843.
Tradescantia mundula is a botanical species that was described in 1843 Source: IPNI: Tradescantia mundula
Tradescantia spathacea 'Aureostriata': with golden (yellow) stripes.
In this article you will read my current personal understanding after collecting and studying Commelinaceae plants since 2010. I thought that with my amateur knowledge about botanical latin I can contribute something more into the existing knowledge of this rapidly growing and expanding family of plants: Commelinaceae, which includes plants that many of them grow as weeds and they are plants that easily cross bred with each other without human intervention.
This article is about the Tradescantia spathacea varieties, cultivars and hybrids. There will be more coming soon for other Tradescantia plants and other plants in the Commelinaceae family.
created: Nov. 7, 2020 updated: Aug.. 24, 2021
⚠️Important notes
1a) variety/var. (varietas in Latin): Most Commelinaceae plants are easily crossed to each other and from that crossing new varieties may appear. According to the International botanical nomenclature, a naturally occuring variety is denoted with the denomination var. whilst the taxon name is written with the first letter of the genus capitalized and the rest with small letters. Plus it is written in italics except the var. denomination. Example: Tradescantia zebrina var. flocculosa.
1b) form/f. (forma in Latin): In botanical nomenclature, a form (forma, plural formae) is one of the "secondary" taxonomic ranks, below that of variety, which in turn is below that of species; it is an infraspecific taxon[1]. Variety differs from form/forma in that a variety implies predictable inheritable traits where form/forma traits occur sporadically within a population.
1c) cv./cultivar: a cultivar (or cv. or horticultural variety) is a cultivated variety that originated after human intervention. The names of cultivars are quoted using single quotes '. . .' and the first letter of each name is capitalized. Example: Murdannia ‘Bright Star’. Murdannia ‘Bright Star’ is a horticultural cultivar with unique characteristics that can only be found combined in that specific cultivar. In the past the denomination cv. used to be included in the name ie: Murdannia cv. ‘Bright Star’ but that is currently not accepted. See also the article about the disambiguation of this taxon.
1d) hybrid: hybrid plants are usually sterile and propagated only through cuttings or tissue culture (TC), not by seed. An example of this might be the Tradescantia ‘Bermudensis’ (also known as Tradescantia 'Hawaiian Dwarf') which is a dwarf cultivar originating from the Tradescantia spathacea plant. After many decades since this plant was circulated all over the world there were nowhere flowers to be seen. Only recently have appeared on the internet, three-four images with flowers. Which makes me think that there might exist more than one variegated Tradescantia spathacea plants with white variegation (reminding also the Tradescantia spathacea 'Sitara' which also has white variegation, but it doesn't stay small). Since flowering photos were never released before, it might be the case that the Tradescantia ‘Bermudensis’ is actually a hybrid (remember: a hybrid is sterile, which only can be propagated through cuttings and TC). One plant - in this case Tradescantia spathacea - may have more than one variegated varieties, such as the case with Callisia fragrans ‘Infinity’ and Callisia fragrans ‘Melnikoff’, two seemingly similar cultivars, but they are in fact different.
2) Color changing: Most plants in the Commelinaceae family do change color according to various factors such as: season, temperature, light, location. Thus, two seemingly identical cuttings/plants may come from different cultivars, that have been grown in different conditions and/or kept in different locations (that relates to light levels). An example of this are the T. zebrina ‘Burgundy’ and T. zebrina ‘Deep Purple’. When kept in bright light their colors will be that of each equivalent cultivar (burgundy color for the first and dark purple [almost black] for the second). But when these plants are kept in a location with less bright light their colors tend to look similar and sometimes may even confuse the experts. So keep always that in mind. That is why it’s important to buy from experienced sellers that have both cultivars and have labeled them correctly, in order to avoid confusion.
3) Old names still in use: old synonyms of both genus and species (some of them even from the 19th century) are unfortunately still in use today, bringing more confusion on these matters. These include and are not limited to: pendula, setcreasea, rhoeo.
4) N/A (where applicable) means that I didn’t have a personal experience with the specific plant variety/cultivar/hybrid.
Setcreasea: a genus synonym for Tradescantia, from the 19th century, still in use today.
Tradescantia spathacea - table listing the different names of varieties, cultivars, hybrids
Tradescantia spathacea
This is the regular plant. The regular T. spathacea is a plant that gets big, about 40cm and perhaps even taller, with large sword-like leaves. Sometimes its - very old - synonym Rhoeo discolor is still used today among hobbyists and in the horticultural industry.
Tradescantia spathacea var. nana
This is the dwarf variety of the Tradescantia spathacea.
Tradescantia spathacea f. concolor
This is a mainly green Tradescantia spathacea with large leaves.
Tradescantia spathacea 'Albovariegata'
Tradescantia spathacea 'Sitara'
It is known as Tradescantia spathacea 'Tricolor', or Tradescantia spathacea 'Sitara', but I don't believe that, that is a cultivar created by humans. I believe is a naturally occuring variety with white variegation, which appeared in the horticultural industry. Etym.: albo (latin for white) + variegata (variegated plant).
Tradescantia spathacea var. nana 'Albovariegata’
It is known as Tradescantia spathacea 'Hawaiian Dwarf', Tradescantia bermudensis 'Variegata' and Tradescantia spathacea 'Sitara'. But there are some mistakes with these names. Firstly, the taxon bermudensis is written in a way as to indicate that it is a botanical species, but there's no such botanical species with that taxon name. Secondly, the T. spathacea 'Sitara' grows larger and there have been circulated 3-4 photos with flowers, therefore I believe there are two white-variegated Tradescantia spathacea varieties. Those that I have mentioned here: One regular size plant that produces flowers and one dwarf sterile (hybrid).
Tradescantia spathacea 'Aureostriata'
This is the yellow (golden) variegated form of the Tradescantia spathacea. It was mistakenly circulated as Tradescantia spathacea 'Vittata' and Rhoeo spathacea variegata 'Vittata' but firstly: The term vittatus is used mainly in zoology, the equivalent in botany is striatus. Secondly: the genus Rhoeo is a very old synonym of the accepted genus Tradescantia. Aureostriata etym.: aureus (latin for golden) + striata (latin for striped [variegation]).
Tradescantia spathacea 'Cream'
This is a new variegated spathacea (Summer of '21) with pastel colors (cream/pink). Her colors resemble those of a different species in the Commelinaceae family, the Tradescantia zebrina 'Danny Lee'.
Tradescantia spathacea var. nana ‘Sitara Gold’
Tradescantia spathacea var. nana ‘Sitake's Gold’
This is the yellow (golden) variegated form of the Tradescantia spathacea var. nana. It's a dwarf (nana) and sterile plant (it does not produce flowers), thus it's a hybrid.
Tradescantia spathacea var. nana ‘Sitara Gold’
Tradescantia spathacea var. nana ‘Sitake's Gold’
This is the yellow (golden) variegated form of the Tradescantia spathacea var. nana. It's a dwarf (nana) and sterile plant (it does not produce flowers), thus it's a hybrid.
This article will be updated whenever more information is available.
Tradescantia spathacea and some other variegated varieties/cultivars/hybrids
1. Tradescantia spathacea2. Tradescantia spathacea var. nana 'Albovariegata' 3. Tradescantia spathacea var. nana 'Sitara Gold' 4. Tradescantia spathacea 'Aureostriata'.
Tradescantia spathacea f. concolor a green spathacea with large leaves.
Tradescantia spathacea dried flower bracts with seeds
A historic photo from 1957, showing the true size of the - then known as Rhoeo discolor - Tradescantia spathacea.
