Details
| Full name | Tradescantia zebrina ‘Evanesce’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Established with a description by Hatch (2022). The name was established under the misspelling ‘Evanence’, but this is corrected to ‘Evanesce’ as chosen by the namer (Erica Jane, personal correspondence, September 2021). |
| Origins | Unknown. |
| Classification | The species Tradescantia zebrina is sometimes labelled with its botanical synonyms Tradescantia pendula, Tradescantia argentea, Zebrina pendula and Cyanotis zebrina. |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Mass-produced in the USA, although often sold with no specific cultivar name. Available from nurseries and specialists elsewhere. |
Description
Preserved in a herbarium specimen (“Tradescantia zebrina ‘Evanesce'”, 2023).
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition: 2019 reprint).
| Species | Tradescantia zebrina. |
| Growth habit | Stems are initially upright, but sprawl and trail as they grow longer. |
| Foliage | Stems are 2-6mm thick, with internodes 2-5cm long, strong yellow green (144B) to dark greyish purple (N186B), with lighter green freckles. Leaves are very slightly asymmetrical ovals, 5-8cm long and 2.5-4cm wide, usually smooth or with scattered hairs near the margins. Each half of the leaf has a band running its length, taking up about 30-50% of its total width. The base colour of the upper surface is greyish olive green (NN137A) to dark dark purplish grey (N186A). The bands are light grey (191C) to greenish grey (N189C) with a metallic shimmer. On the newest leaves, the bands become streaked or pinstriped with dark purple (79B) or dark purplish red (N79A). Undersides are uniform dark purple (79A to 79B). Sheaths are moderate yellow green (N148C) to light grey (191C), with greyish reddish purple (N77C) veins. |
References
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.
Hatch, L. (2022). Commelinaceae: A Guide to Modern and Historic Cultivars.
Tradescantia zebrina ‘Evanesce’. (2023). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0168565]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.