A grand roundup of the alternative names for Tradescantia zebrina - you have probably heard all of these names
Alternative names for Tradescantia zebrina
Tradescantia zebrina, also known as hanging spiderwort and variegated dayflower, is a perennial herbaceous foliage plant in the Commelinaceae family, genus Tradescantia. Its stems are weak and brittle, creeping along the ground in a trailing growth habit.
Because its leaves resemble bamboo and are beautiful, it is often grown in pots hung indoors to enjoy its stems and leaves that trail and droop softly in all directions, hence the name Tradescantia zebrina (hanging bamboo plum).
Morphological characteristics of Tradescantia zebrina
Tradescantia zebrina is a perennial herbaceous plant with slightly weak, green, drooping, semi-succulent stems.
The branches of Tradescantia zebrina root at the nodes; they are generally oblong, spreading or hanging, about 1 m long.
The leaves of Tradescantia zebrina are sessile, elliptic-ovate to oblong, 3-7 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide, with a short pointed tip, purplish-green above and mixed with silvery white, with purple stripes along the middle margin, purplish-red beneath, and the top and base of the sheath, or the whole sheath, sparsely covered with long hairs.
The small white flowers of Tradescantia zebrina are axillary, clustered within a large and a small terminal bract-like leaf, with 3 sepals fused into a cylindrical tube about 6 mm long, a white, slender corolla tube about 1 cm long, 3 rose-colored lobes about 3 mm long, 6 stamens; and a 3-chambered ovary.
The fruit of Tradescantia zebrina is a capsule, and the flowering period is irregular.
Uses and value of Tradescantia zebrina
Tradescantia zebrina is often grown as a small potted ornamental.
Because Tradescantia zebrina grows quickly, it can cover a full pot in 1 year, with branches and leaves creeping and hanging, and foliage in alternating purple, green and silver that is dazzling to the eye. Placed on a tall stand or the top of a cabinet and allowed to hang down naturally, it can also be enjoyed in a hanging basket. Or arrange it above a windowsill and let it hang down to form a green curtain.
When cultivated in courtyards it is often used for overall arrangements. The variegated leaves of the plant may sometimes turn green; at this point they should be removed promptly so that the leaves of the whole plant do not all turn green.
In addition, Tradescantia zebrina can also be used as medicine, also known as variegated bamboo-shell vegetable, water bamboo grass and purple-backed dayflower, and has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, and promoting urination.
The flower language of Tradescantia zebrina
The flower language of Tradescantia zebrina is simplicity, purity, elegance, innocence, hope and tranquility. Spirits dancing in midair, aloof from the world, they are pure and innocent.