TRADESCANTIA FLUMINENSIS

Family:- COMMELINACEAE

Common Names:- None

Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Tradescantia (L) For Old John Tradescant (1567-1638) gardener to

Charles 1.

Fluminensis (L) Of the river, from Rio de Janeiro.

General description:- Perennial, spreading ground cover.

Stems:-

1) Procumbent or decumbent, soft, glabrous, rooting at the nodes.

Leaves:-

1) 3-6 cm, dark-green and shiny, pointed tips, broadly ovate, acute, rather fleshy,

usually purplish beneath, glabrous except for some cilia at the mouth of the

sheath.

Flowers:-

1) Cymes, few-flowered.

2) Pedicels, 1-2 cm, slender.

3) Sepals, up to 9 mm, lanceolate, glabrous except for a pubescent midrib.

4) Petals, up to 12 mm, narrowly ovate, white or pale lilac.

Habitat:- Moist shady habitats at low levels.

Distribution:- Limited distribution in the Mediterranean. Introduced, native to S.

America. Rare on Crete, mainly to the west.

Flowering time:- June-Aug

Photos by:- Enda McMullen