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Tradescantia pallida
Also called Purple heart, Wandering Jew, Purplequeen, Purpleheart, "Wandering Jew"
In Singapore: Purple Heart, Purple-Heart Tradescantia, Purple Queen, Wandering Jew (Grown in Singapore)
Purple queen is a trailing, evergreen perennial (often grown as a houseplant or groundcover) with purple leaves and stems; the plant described is the cultivar 'Purpurea' most commonly grown. It is easy to grow and tolerates both drought and frequent watering, with the deepest purple color in full sun.
Tradescantia pallida is a species of spiderwort native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. It is a perennial herbaceous species with a trailing habit. The cultivar T. pallida 'Purpurea', commonly called purple heart or purple queen or wandering Jew, is widely grown as a houseplant, outdoor container plant, or a garden groundcover. The species has been proven useful in indicating and removing air and soil pollutants and has also been used in food technology.
T. pallida is found along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Its native range extends from Tamaulipas to Yucatan. The species has been collected in a tropical deciduous forest, among roadside limestone rocks, and on limestone outcrops.
T. pallida is grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive foliage. Only the cultivar 'Purpurea', featuring purple-violet leaves and stems, is commercially grown. 'Purpurea' is sometimes sold under the name 'Purple Heart', and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Longbract spiderwort · Small-leaf spiderwort · Texas spiderwort · Prairie spiderwort · Bluejacket · Wooly Spiderwort · Boatlily · Zigzag spiderwort · Virginia spiderwort · Inchplant · Spiderwort
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tradescantia pallida by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
