Details
| Full name | Tradescantia (Continental Group) ‘Lilac Longleaf’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Registered on behalf of the community, the name will be established once published in hardcopy (Brickell et al., 2016, Art. 27.1). Also known as:
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| Origins | Unknown. Name suggested by Maëlle Djordjevic and chosen by community vote. |
| Classification | Continental Group cultivars are often mislabelled as T. albiflora or T. fluminensis, but do not fully match that species are appear to be hybrids in the Austrotradescantia subgenus. |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Distributed by collectors worldwide. |
Description
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition; 2019 reprint).
| Cultivar group | Tradescantia Continental Group. |
| Growth habit | Upright to sprawling, very densely branched. |
| Foliage | Stems are 2.5-4mm thick, with internodes 0.5-2.5cm long, greyish olive green (NN37A). Leaves are spirally or sometimes alternately arranged along the stem. Leaves are narrow pointed ovals, 6-9cm long and 1.5-3cm wide, sometimes with a short stalk (petiole). The upper surfaces are greyish yellow green (191A) to greyish olive green (NN137A), with light purple (76A) to bluish white (N155A) marginal variegation. The undersides are moderate olive green (137A) to greyish purple (N187B) under dark areas, and bluish white (N155A) to strong purple (77B) under light areas. Leaf sheaths are light grey (191C) with darker veins. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are scattered with a variable amount of bristly hairs. The leaf margins are lined with tiny hairs (ciliate or ciliolate), and the tops of the sheaths have a cluster of longer hairs. |
| Flowers | 10-14mm across. Petals, stamens, and pistil are white, anthers are yellow. |
| Comparisons | This cultivar is extremely similar to ‘US Pink Dragon’. Some growers consider them distinct, but it is usually impossible to separate them other than by origin. |
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.