Details
| Full name | Tradescantia (Andersoniana Group) ‘Lucky Charm’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Established with a description by Egger (2012). |
| Origins | Documented by Egger (2012). Bred by Janet Egger in Wilsonville, Oregon, USA, to create a more compact improvement on Tradescantia (Andersoniana Group) ‘Sweet Kate’. Selected as a seedling between unnamed seed parent 27-2 and pollen parent 28-2. Introduced by Terra Nova Nurseries. |
| Classification | Like other hardy garden hybrids, it is now placed in the Andersoniana Group. These hybrids are sometimes mislabelled as Tradescantia virginiana or the invalid botanical hybrid Tradescantia × andersoniana. |
| Legal protection | Patented in the USA (Egger, 2012). |
| Availability | Available from a small number of nurseries in the USA. |
Description
Preserved as a herbarium specimen (Atha, 2013).
Described by Egger (2012), with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (5th edition).
| Cultivar group | Tradescantia Andersoniana Group. |
| Growth habit | Upright clumping. 19cm high x 43cm spread. |
| Foliage | Stems 8mm wide with internodes from 1.5cm to 7.5cm long, hairless. Leaves 24cm long and 17mm wide, hairless on both surfaces but with hairs at the margin near the base. Colour varies from yellow (10A) to yellow green (144A). |
| Flowers | Buds are yellow green (145A) and furry, on a hairless pedicel 20mm long and greyed purple (N187D). Open flowers are 42mm wide, petal edges are slightly undulating and sometimes slightly lobed. Inside of flowers violet (N88A to N87A at the centre), outside violet (N88C to N88A at the edges). Ovary is yellow green (145D), style is violet (87A), and stigma is white (NN155A). Stamen filament and hairs are violet (N88A), anthers are yellow (13A). |
| Comparisons | More compact growth habit than Tradescantia (Andersoniana Group) ‘Sweet Kate’. |
References
Egger, J. N. (2012, August 21). Tradescantia plant named ‘Lucky Charm’ [US plant patent PP22,981 P2]. United States Patent and Trademark Office. Internet Archive link.
Atha, D. (2013). [Herbarium specimen 02209988]. New York Botanical Garden Steere Herbarium. Internet Archive link.
Brickell, C. D., Alexander, C., Cubey, J. J., David, J. C., Hoffman, M. H. A., Leslie, A. C., Malécot, V., Jin, X. (2016). International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. PDF link.