Details
| Full name | Tradescantia chrysophylla ‘Baby Bunny Bellies’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Listed online with photos by Dave’s Garden (2008). No hardcopy publication has been found, so the name is accepted and will be established once published (Brickell et al., 2016, Art. 27.1). |
| Origins | Unknown. |
| Classification | The plant is now accepted as belonging to the species Tradescantia chrysophylla, which was described scientifically after it was already in cultivation (Pellegrini et al., 2017). |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Mass-produced and widely available. |
Description
Preserved as a herbarium specimen (“Tradescantia chrysophylla ‘Baby Bunny Bellies'”, 2022).
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition: 2019 reprint).
| Species | Tradescantia chrysophylla. |
| Growth habit | Low-growing, creeping stems which will spread out of any container and trail downwards. Very fast and vigorous growth. |
| Foliage | Stems are 3-4mm wide, with internodes 2-4cm long, covered in velvety hairs. Below the hairs, stems are dark greyish yellowish brown (N200A). Leaves are pointed ovals, 4-5cm long and 2-3cm wide, covered in velvety hairs on upper and lower surfaces. The tops of the leaves are dark greyish green (N189A), the undersides are dark purplish red (N79A), and the leaf sheaths are moderate yellow green (138C). In lower light, the stems can become slightly longer and thinner – but the colours do not change significantly. |
| Flowers | Small white flowers, typical for the species. Not very common when grown indoors. |
References
Dave’s Garden. (2008). Tradescantia, Speedy Jenny ‘Baby Bunny Bellies’ (Tradescantia). 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.
Pellegrini, M. O. O., Forzza, R. C., Sakuragui, C. M. (2017). Novelties in Brazilian Tradescantia L. (Commelinaceae). Phytokeys 80:1-31. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.80.12232. Open access link.
Tradescantia chrysophylla ‘Baby Bunny Bellies’. (2022). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0168492]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.