*Tradescantia spathacea** *Swartz, Prodr. 57. 1788; *Rhoeo discolor*
(L’Héritier)
Hance; *R. spathacea* (Swartz) Stearn; *Tradescantia discolor* L’Héritier.
‘Boat lily, Moses-in-a-boat, Oyster lily’.
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.
*Flowering:* Always
*Distribution:* Naturalized all over world. Native to Caribbean region and
Central America. Widely cultivated as an ornamental in India.
*Note: *The flower and leaf is used as folk medicine. This plant is also
known as *Rhoeo discolor *and more frequently in the horticulture
trade as *Rhoeo
spathacea.*
On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 9:34 AM, Gurcharan Singh <[email protected]> wrote:
> Commelinales & Zingiberales Week: Commelinales, Tradescantia spathacea
> Sw,, Prodr. 57. 1788
> Syn: *Rhoeo discolor* (L'Hér.) Hance
> * Rhoeo spathacea* (Sw.) Stearn
> * Tradescantia discolor* L'Hér.
>
> Another common garden ornamental grown in pots and baskets in Delhi, with
> long red leaves and white flowers enclosed in large spathaceous bracts in
> the axils of leaves. Formerly known as Rhoeo discolor.
>
> Common Names: boat-lily, moses-in-the-cradle, oysterplant
>
> --
> Dr. Gurcharan Singh
> Retired Associate Professor
> SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
> Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
> Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089
> http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/
>
>
--
Mr. Mayur D. Nandikar,
Research Student,
Department of Botany,
Shivaji University,
Kolhapur.
