Details
| Full name | Tradescantia spathacea ‘Concolor’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Established by Baker (1868). Because it was published before 1959, the Latin name can be accepted (Brickell et al., Art. 21.11). |
| Origins | Unknown. |
| Classification | It was originally published as a botanical variety, Tradescantia discolor var. concolor (Baker, 1868), then reclassified as a botanical form, Rhoeo spathacea forma concolor (Stehlé, 1970). Both are now considered synonyms for the species Tradescantia spathacea (POWO, 2022), so the plant is instead treated as a cultivar with the same name (Brickell et al., 2016, Art. 2.4). |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Locally available in some locations, although not widespread in cultivation. |
Description
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition; 2019 reprint).
| Species | Tradescantia spathacea. |
| Growth habit | Grows a compact, upright rosette of very long leaves. |
| Foliage | Stems are 0.5-2cm thick with internodes 0.5-5cm long, completely hairless, strong yellow green (144B), almost always completely covered by overlapping leaf bases. Leaves are narrow and pointed, 15-30cm long and 3-6cm wide, completely hairless. Upper surfaces are greyish olive green (NN137A) to moderate olive green (147A). Undersides are moderate yellow green (138B) to moderate olive green (137B), with moderate yellowish green (138A) to strong yellow green (143C) veins. Sheaths are strong yellow green (144B). |
| Flowers | Typical for the species, they develop nestled in bracts close to the stem. 10-15mm across. Petals, pistil, and stamen filaments are pure white, anthers are yellow. |
References
Baker, J. G. (1868). “Natural Order Commelinaceae”. In Saunders, W. W., Refugium Botanicum (Vol. 1) (tab. 48). John Van Voorst. Biodiversity Heritage Library link.
Stehlé, H. (1970). Notes taxinomiques et écologiques sur des Monocotylédones nouvelles ou rares des Antilles françaises: Commelinaceae [Taxonomic and ecological notes on new or rare Monocotyledons from the French West Indies: Commelinaceae] (37e Contribution). Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France, 117:1-2, 71-80. doi:10.1080/00378941.1970.10838746. PDF 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.
POWO. (2022). Tradescantia discolor var. concolor. Plants of the World Online. Link.