Details
| Full name | Tradescantia zebrina ‘HappiLee’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. The name was chosen by the grower (Justin Hancock, personal correspondence, November 2022), and so other published names are rejected (Brickell et al., 2016, Art. 31.4). Also known as:
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| Origins | Origins described by Costa Farms (personal communication, 22 October 2021). Sport from Tradescantia zebrina ‘Minima’ which developed at Costa Farms, USA, in around 2018. Named by Danny Lee, the staff member who found the sport. |
| 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. Available from specialists and collectors elsewhere. |
Description
Preserved in a herbarium specimen (“Tradescantia zebrina ‘HappiLee'”, 2023).
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition; 2019 reprint).
| Species | Tradescantia zebrina. |
| Growth habit | Stems initially grow upright but soon start to sprawl and trail out of any container. |
| Foliage | Stems are 1-4mm thick with internodes 2-5cm long, greyish yellow green (194B) to greyish purplish red (N77B) with lighter green freckles, completely hairless. Leaves are slightly asymmetrical pointed ovals, 4-6cm long and 2-3.5cm wide. The leaves are usually scattered with hairs, particularly on the upper surface. Each half of the leaf has a shimmering stripe running its length, taking up about 30-50% of its total width. The leaves also have random sectoral variegation which covers from 0-100% of each leaf surface. The base colour of the leaves ranges from moderate yellow green (146B) to moderate olive green (147A). The uniform shimmering stripes are light grey (191C) to pale green (189C) and glittery. The random pale sectors range from yellowish grey (156A) in lower light, to dark purplish pink (186C) in intense light. Leaf undersides are greyish purple (N77A) under dark sectors, to strong purple (77B) under pale sectors. Leaf sheaths are light yellow green (145D), with greyish purplish red (N77B) veins. |
| Flowers | Rare or unheard-of in cultivation. |
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.
Tradescantia zebrina ‘HappiLee’. (2023). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0155549]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.