What plant is Tradescantia zebrina? Let's get to know this herbaceous plant

Other names for Tradescantia zebrina

Tradescantia zebrina, also called hanging spiderwort or variegated inch plant, is a perennial herbaceous foliage plant of the genus Tradescantia in the family Commelinaceae. 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 admire its stems and leaves that spread out and hang softly, hence the name Tradescantia zebrina.

Morphological characteristics of Tradescantia zebrina

Tradescantia zebrina is a perennial herbaceous plant with slightly weak, green, drooping, semi-succulent stems.

Its branches root at the nodes; they are generally oblong, spreading or hanging, about 1 m long.

The leaves of Tradescantia zebrina are sessile, shaped from elliptic-ovate to oblong, 3-7 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide, with a short pointed tip, purple-green above mixed with silvery white, with purple stripes along the middle margin, purple-red beneath, and the top and base of the sheath, or all of it, sparsely covered with long hairs.

The small flowers of Tradescantia zebrina are white and axillary, clustered within bract-like leaves at the top, one large and one small; there are 3 sepals fused into a cylindrical tube about 6 mm long, the corolla tube is white and slender, about 1 cm long, with 3 rose-colored lobes about 3 mm long, and 6 stamens; the ovary has 3 chambers.

The fruit of Tradescantia zebrina is a capsule, and the flowering period is irregular.

Uses and value of Tradescantia zebrina

Tradescantia zebrina is often used as a small potted ornamental.

Because Tradescantia zebrina grows quickly, it can cover a whole pot in 1 year, with branches and leaves creeping and hanging, and leaves in alternating purple, green and silver that are dazzling. Place it on a tall stand or the top of a cabinet and let it hang naturally, or grow it in a hanging basket for display. It can also be placed above a windowsill so it hangs down to form a green curtain.

In courtyard cultivation it is often used for overall arrangement. The plant's variegated leaves may sometimes turn into green leaves; at this point they should be removed promptly to prevent all the leaves of the whole plant from turning green.

In addition, Tradescantia zebrina can also be used as medicine, also known as variegated bamboo shell vegetable, water bamboo grass, or purple-backed spiderwort, 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, they are pure and innocent, aloof from the world.