Details
| Full name | Tradescantia (Continental Group) ‘Gelfling’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Registered by Winnington (2023). |
| Origins | Originated as a sport mutation in 2020 from an unnamed plant of an unknown species, possibly a Tradescantia crassula hybrid. Named after a fictional character. Selected, named, registered, and introduced by Helen Winnington in Belfast, Northern Ireland. |
| Classification | Unknown species, possibly a hybrid involving Tradescantia crassula. Like other variegated Austrotradescantia hybrids, it is now placed in the Continental Group. |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Available from collectors and specialists. |
Description
Preserved in a herbarium specimen (“Tradescantia (Continental Group) ‘Gelfling'”, 2023).
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition: 2019 reprint).
| Cultivar group | Tradescantia Continental Group. |
| Growth habit | Fairly compact habit, creeping or trailing as the stems grow longer. |
| Foliage | Stems are 1-3mm thick with internodes 1-4cm long, moderate yellow green (146D) to greyish olive green (NN137A), smooth except for a single line of tiny hairs running along the length. Leaves are slightly pointed ovals, 3-5cm long and 1.5-2.5cm wide, smooth except for a few hairs at the top of the sheath, with marginal variegation. On the upper surfaces, the stripes reaching down from the margins are dark greenish yellow (152D) to moderate yellow green (146C). The stripes reaching up from the base are moderate olive green (146A) to greyish olive green (NN137B). The undersides are greyish purple (N187B) to dark purplish red (N79A), sometimes with moderate yellow green (138B) to strong yellow green (144A) veins. Leaf sheaths are moderate yellow green (147C). |
| Flowers | About 12mm across, white, frequent from late spring through summer. |
| Comparisons | Compared to Tradescantia ‘EC-TRADE-2011’, it has different coloured stripes and less rounded leaves. |
References
Winnington, H. (2023). Tradescantia cultivar names registered 2022. RHS Cultivar Registration Bulletin, 2, 26. Online edition link.
Tradescantia (Continental Group) ‘Gelfling’. (2023). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0168553]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.