Purple heart (Tradescantia pallida)
Description
Tradescantia pallida is an evergreen perennial plant of scrambling stature. It is distinguished by elongated, pointed leaves - themselves glaucous green, fringed with red or purple - and bearing small, sterile three-petaled flowers of white, pink or purple. Plants are top-killed by moderate frosts, but will often sprout back from roots. Protection by mulching will increase the chances of sprouting in marginal areas. Tradescantia pallida is a species of spiderwort (a genus of New World plants) more commonly known as wandering jew or walking jew, a name it shares with the closely related species T. fluminensis and T. zebrina. Other common names include purple secretia, purple-heart, and purple queen. It is native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. Edward Palmer collected the type specimen near Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas in 1907.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Commelinales
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Family: Commelinaceae
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Genus: Tradescantia
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