Details
| Full name | Tradescantia zebrina ‘Tikal’. |
| Name status | Accepted, the valid name for a unique cultivar. First described online by Barbier (2013). Established in hardcopy by Hatch (2022). |
| Origins | Collected by Eric Barbier in the area of Tikal, Mexico (Barbier, 2013). |
| Classification | The species Tradescantia zebrina is sometimes labelled with its botanical synonyms Tradescantia pendula, Zebrina pendula and Cyanotis zebrina. |
| Legal protection | None. |
| Availability | Available occasionally from collectors and specialists. |
Description
Preserved in a herbarium specimen (“Tradescantia zebrina ‘Tikal'”, 2023).
Described with reference to the RHS Colour Chart (6th Edition: 2019 reprint).
| Species | Tradescantia zebrina. |
| Growth habit | Stems are initially upright, but start to sprawl and trail as they get longer. |
| Foliage | Stems are 2-4mm thick with internodes 2-5cm long, hairless, strong yellow green (144A) to greyish purple (N77A) with lighter green freckles. Leaves are pointed ovals 6-10cm long and 2.5-4cm wide, smooth except for a few hairs at the top of the sheath. Each half of the leaf has a shimmering band running the length, which covers about 20-40% of the width. The base colour of the upper surfaces is moderate olive green (137B) to greyish olive green (NN137A). The shimmering bands are light grey (191C). In bright light, the new leaves develop dark red (59A) to greyish purple (N77A) pinstripes over the surface. Undersides are dark purple (79A), sometimes with greyish yellow green (191B) veins. Sheaths are moderate yellow green (147D) to purplish grey (N187C), sometimes with greyish purplish red (N77B) veins. |
| Flowers | Slightly larger than average for the species, pale bluish-purple petals. Rare in cultivation. |
References
Barbier, E. (2013). Tradescantia zebrina var. zebrina (N0765). Flickr. 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 zebrina ‘Tikal’. (2023). [Herbarium specimen, barcode WSY0155552]. RHS Wisley Herbarium.