‘Lavender’

Details

(Understanding this section)

Full name	Tradescantia fluminensis ‘Lavender’.
Name status	Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. First listed online with a photo by Stewartia (2007). The name was written ‘ラベンダー’, a Japanese transcription for ‘Lavender’, which has now become the most commonly-used spelling. Established with a description by Hatch (2022). Also known as: ‘Tricolor’, an established synonym. ‘Discolor’, an established synonym. ‘Laekenensis’, an established synonym. ‘Laekenensis Rainbow’, an established synonym. ‘California’, an estsablished synonym. ‘Lollipop’, an unpublished trade name. ‘Variegata’, an invalid name. ‘Purple Bicolor’, an established name of questionable status which may be a synonym or a different cultivar. ‘Rosea’, an invalid name which may refer to this or a different cultivar. All of the other established names are also used to refer to other cultivars, so the least ambiguous and most common name ‘Lavender’ is now accepted for this cultivar.
Origins	Introducted by Draps-Dom in 1907 in Laeken, Belgium (“Tradescantia laekenensis”, 1908).
Classification	The species Tradescantia fluminensis has sometimes been labelled with its botanical synonym Tradescantia albiflora, and with the invalid horticultural names Tradescantia viridis, Tradescantia repens, and Tradescantia reptans.
Legal protection	None.
Availability	Available from many nurseries and specialists.

Description

Preserved in multiple herbarium specimens (Hartling, 1921; “Tradescantia fluminensis ‘Lavender'”, 2023).

Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition; 2019 reprint).

Species	Tradescantia fluminensis.
Growth habit	Trailing or creeping habit, with stems which do not support themselves vertically.
Foliage	Stems are 1-4mm wide with internodes 1-4cm long, smooth except for one line of tiny hairs running along the length, greyish olive green (NN137A) to strong yellow green (144A). Leaves are pointed ovals, 3-5.5cm long and 1-2.5cm wide, with marginal variegation, smooth except for a few hairs at the top of the sheath. On the upper surfaces, the pale background is light reddish purple (N75A) to very pale purple (69C). The dark stripes are a mixture of colours ranging from greyish olive green (NN137A) to greyish yellow green (191A). The undersides are dark purplish grey (N187A) to moderate yellow green (147B) in dark areas, and strong purple (77B) to very pale purple (69C) or greyish yellow green (198A) in light areas. Leaf sheaths are pale yellow green (192A) to strong yellow green (144A).
Flowers	Flowers are 15mm across. Petals are pure white, very narrow and pointed. Anthers are yellow, stamen filaments and pistil are white.

References

Tradescantia Laekenensis. (1908). The Florists’ Exchange, 26, p. 844. Biodiversity Heritage Library link.

Hartling, J. (1921). [Herbarium specimen, barcode 03734821]. New York Botanical Garden Steere Herbarium. Specimen scan link.

Stewartia. (2007). 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.

Hatch, L. (2022). Commelinaceae: A Guide to Modern and Historic Cultivars.

Tradescantia fluminensis ‘Lavender’. (2023). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0155550]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.