Details
| Full name | Tradescantia cerinthoides ‘Red Hill’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. Listed for sale since 1999 with no description, by VBN (2015). The name was established with a description by Hatch (2022). Also known as:
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| Origins | Unknown. |
| Classification | The species Tradescantia cerinthoides is sometimes labelled with its botanical synonym Tradescantia blossfeldiana. |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Mass-produced and widely available. |
Description
Preserved in a herbarium specimen (“Tradescantia cerinthoides ‘Red Hill'”, 2023).
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition: 2019 reprint).
| Species | Tradescantia cerinthoides. |
| Growth habit | Strong stems which are initially fairly upright, but begin to sprawl and trail as they get longer. |
| Foliage | Stems are 3-7mm thick with internodes 2-6cm long, moderate olive green (146A) to dark purplish grey (N187A), scattered with white hairs especially close to the nodes. Leaves are ovals, 5-12cm long and 2-5cm wide. The upper surfaces are greyish olive green (NN137A) to dark greyish green (N189A), and in intense light a dark red (187A) stripe develops along the central vein. The undersides are dark purplish grey (N187A) to dark purplish red (N79A) with moderate yellow green (147B) veins. Sheaths are moderate yellow green (147C) to greyish purplish red (N77B). The leaf undersides and sheaths are thickly covered in soft white hairs. The upper leaf surfaces sometimes have scattered hairs near the margins. |
| Flowers | 12-15mm across. Petals are white at the base and light reddish purple (N75A) to light purple (N81D) at the tips. The sepals are covered with hairs on the outer surface. |
References
VBN. (2015). Barcodes. PDF 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 cerinthoides ‘Red Hill’. (2023). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0168550]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.