cohanApr 25, 2023
1/4 @TradescantiaHub @plants Bought a new #houseplant the other day, something I do rarely these days, but this was something I'd never seen before- at first glance I thought I thought it was a Sansevieria, but no + the tag said #Tradescantia spathacea Silver- which I'd never heard of till I realised that was the old Rhoeo sp.But I started digging more, since it didn't look right- leaf shape was diff, though that could be varietal--
#houseplants #TradescantiaTuesday #Commelinaceae #PlantNerd
Show threadcohan
2/4 @[email protected] @plants Then I realised there was a bigger problem- it seemed to have a tall (compared to the low growing plant) spent flower stalk- T. spathacea should have flowers in conspicuous 'spathes' held close to the stems- think of common names like 'Moses in the Cradle'! I found a number of references to my plant with the same name but finally hit paydirt: an Instagram post had the plant with the tag Murdannia Bright Star (though spelled wrong..lol -cont- #houseplants
Apr 25, 2023 at 4:52amWeb
Show threadcohanApr 25, 2023
3/4 @TradescantiaHub @plants Before I'd sorted out the name, which should be Murdannia loriformis Bright Star ( at least that's what it is mostly being called in horticulture!) I'd given it a gentle wash with (dish) soapy warm water and rinsed with filtered water with a couple of drops of vinegar, then cozied it into a produce bag for a few days spa treatment (vs the supermarket experience I rescued it from!) and to hopefully make sure it didn't have any critters with it!
Show threadcohanApr 25, 2023
4/4 seems I'm at part 4 of what was supposed to be 2 parts..lol This plant (if name is right now!) is an Asian cousin to mostly (entirely?) American Tradescantias, does not have the trailing stems many of those do, rather seems to mostly cluster rosettes/short stems that rise from the soil. The species form, all green with narrower leaves, is grassier looking and has common names like Beijing Grass or Angel Grass, + has medicinal uses. edits for number + typos
#PlantGeek #herbs #UsefulPlants