Details
| Full name | Tradescantia pallida ‘Ocampo White’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Established with a description by Plant Delights (2006, p. 30). |
| Origins | Collected from the wild near Ocampo in Southern Tamaulipas, Mexico, by Yucca Do nursery (Plant Delights, 2006, p. 30). |
| Classification | The species Tradescantia pallida is sometimes labelled with its botanical synonyms Setcreasea pallida and Setcreasea purpurea. |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Available from some nurseries and specialists. |
Description
Preserved in a herbarium specimen (“Tradescantia pallida ‘Ocampo White'”, 2023).
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition: 2019 reprint).
The entire plant can vary its appearance dramatically in different conditions – changing in growth habit, leaf shape, size, hairiness, and colour. It’s impossible to cover every possible variation, but this general summary describes a healthy plant.
| Species | Tradescantia pallida. |
| Growth habit | Growth is initially fairly upright, but long stems will eventually start to trail. In intense light it will stay compact and upright for longer, whereas in moderate light it will trail more easily. |
| Foliage | Stems are 4-6mm thick, with internodes 1-5cm long (usually shorter at the base and elongating towards the top of flowering stalks). They are smooth and hairless, and range from dark purplish grey (N187A) to greyish reddish purple (N77C). Leaves are narrow pointed ovals, 8-13cm long and 2-3cm wide. Upper and lower surfaces are scattered with fluffy hairs. Upper surfaces are moderate olive green (137B). In intense light, the edges become stained with dark purplish red (N79A) or dark red (59A). Leaf undersides are moderate yellow green (138B) or greyish yellow green (191A), streak with greyish reddish purple (N77C) or greyish purple (N187B). Leaf sheaths are moderate yellow green (147D), with greyish purplish red (N77D) at the very base. |
| Flowers | 20mm across, pure white petals, with white stamen filaments and yellow anthers. |
References
Plant Delights Nursery, Inc. (2006). The Day, The Gardeners Cried: 2006 Fall Sales Catalog and Plant Owner’s Manual.
Tradescantia pallida ‘Ocampo White’. (2023). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0168548]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.