Details
| Full name | Tradescantia ‘Pale Puma’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Established by Plant Delights (2007, p. 31, with reference to their spring catalog). Also known as:
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| Origins | The plant was popular in Texas since the 1990s, and may have been brought into cultivation from Barton Springs Nursery by John Greenlee (San Marcos Growers, 2015). |
| Classification | The plant is sometimes labelled as Tradescantia pallida, sometimes as Tradescantia sillamontana, sometimes as a hybrid of the two. It has also been identified as Tradescantia cerinthoides in the past (San Marcos Growers, 2015). It is currently treated as an unknown species or hybrid in the subgenus Setcreasea. |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Available from many nurseries. |
Description
Preserved as a herbarium specimen (“Tradescantia ‘Pale Puma'”, 2022).
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 typical healthy plant.
| Subgenus | Tradescantia subg. Setcreasea. |
| 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 3-5mm thick, with internodes 1-4cm long, smooth and hairless. In moderate light the colour is strong yellow green (144A), in intense light they darken to greyish purple (N77A). Leaves are wide ovals, 6-8cm long and 3-5cm wide. In moderate light the upper surfaces are greyish olive green (NN137A) or dark greyish green (N189A), the undersides are greyish purple (N187B), and the sheaths are light yellow green (145B). In intense light the upper surfaces are dark greyish reddish brown (200A) or dark purplish grey (N187A), undersides are greyish purple (N187B), and sheaths are purplish grey (N187C). The upper and lower leaf surfaces are covered with scattered white hairs, and they become dense and cobwebby along the edges of the leaves. |
| Flowers | Flower stalks form fairly often in good conditions. The flower buds themselves almost never open, usually staying immature for a long time and eventually drying out. When they very occasionally open, the petals are strong pink. |
References
Plant Delights Nursery, Inc. (2007). Plant Parenthood: 2007 Fall Sales Catalog & Plant Owner’s Manual.
San Marcos Growers. (2015). Tradescantia ‘Greenlee’ – Pale Puma Spiderwort. Internet Archive link.
Plant Delights Nursery, Inc. (2021). Tradescantia ‘Pale Puma’. Internet Archive link.
Tradescantia ‘Pale Puma’. (2022). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0168484]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.