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Tradescantia spathacea Sw.

Boatlily (en), Rhoéo (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Commelinales > Commelinaceae > Tradescantia

Characteristics

Herbs, erect or ascending, rarely rooting at nodes. Stems unbranched, short. Leaves spirally arranged; blade usually abaxially purple, adaxially green, strap-shaped, to 35 ´ 5 cm (distal leaf blades wider or narrower than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), leathery, succulent, glabrous. Inflorescences axillary, sessile, or pedunculate in axils well below shoot apex, cymes enclosed in pairs of boat-shaped spathes. Flowers distinctly pedicillate; pedicels glabrous; sepals distinct, white, 3--6 mm, glabrous; petals distinct, white, ovate, not clawed; stamens free; filaments bearded. Capsules 3-or (by abortion) 2-locular, 3--4 mm. Seeds 1 per locule, 3--4 mm. 2n = 12 (Belize).
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Herbs perennial. Stems erect, often forming colonies, simple, glabrous. Leaves alternate, sometimes seemingly spirally arranged, sessile; leaf sheath sometimes pilose at mouth; leaf blade dark green adaxially, purple abaxially, oblong-lanceolate, 20--40 × 3--6 cm, glabrous, somewhat fleshy, base narrowed and semiclasping, apex acuminate. Flowers in axillary, pedunculate, simple or forked, many-flowered umbels subtended by 2 large, conduplicate, ovate bracts to 3 cm. Petals white, ovate, 5--8 mm, apex abruptly acute. Seeds rugose.
A creeping herb.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.55 - 0.75
Mature height (meter) 0.3 - 0.6
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Not known
Light 4-8
Soil humidity 2-7
Soil texture -
Soil acidity 2-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 11-12

Usage

Uses environmental use medicinal poison potherb
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Abscess (unspecified), Pectoral (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Refrigerant (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings, divisions or seedlings.
Mode cuttings divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 40
Germination temperacture (C°) 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Tradescantia spathacea habit picture by arundina (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Tradescantia spathacea leaf picture by Villanueva Eden (cc-by-sa)
Tradescantia spathacea leaf picture by Najeral Fernando (cc-by-sa)
Tradescantia spathacea leaf picture by Matías y Daniel Laaz (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Tradescantia spathacea world distribution map, present in Bangladesh, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, China, Cook Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, Gambia, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Norfolk Island, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Seychelles, Tokelau, Tonga, Tanzania, United Republic of, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:173471-1
WFO ID wfo-0000589684
COL ID 7CLTM
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 456014
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Rhoeo spathacea Ephemerum bicolor Tradescantia versicolor Rhoeo discolor (l'hér.) Tradescantia discolor l'hér. Ephemerum discolor Rhoeo spathacea f. concolor Rhoeo spathacea f. variegata Tradescantia discolor var. concolor Tradescantia discolor var. variegata Tradescantia spathacea
WorldFloraDB 2024