Accepted Scientific Name: Tradescantia crassifolia var. acaulis (M.Martens & Galeotti) C.B.Clarke
Monogr. Phan. [ A.DC. & C.DC.] 3: 293. 1881 [Jun 1881] A.DC. & C.DC.
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Tradescantia acaulis (Tradescantia crassifolia var. acaulis) Photo by: Valentino Vallicelli
RM 127 (Collector Robert Maijer) Mineral del Chico in Hidalgo, Mexico, between 2000-3000m
Origin and Habitat: Tradescantia acaulisSN|32032]]SN|32032]] grows on the porphyritic rocks of Cerro Ventoso mountain in the Real del Monte mining district on the edge of the plain of Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
Altitude: 2000-3000 metres above sea level.
Synonyms:
See all synonyms of Tradescantia crassifolia
Common Names include:
ENGLISH: Stemless Spiderwort
Description: Tradescantia acaulisSN|32032]]SN|32032]] is a low growing perennial succulent with 10-15 cm rosettes growing flat against the soil, at the centre of which is a cluster of pink or bluish short stalked flowers. It very easy to recognize as it is devoid of an apparent stem.
Roots: Fibrous fascicled.
Leaves: Several rosulate, oblong, ovate-lanceolate, canaliculate, acute, entire, enlarged towards the base, hairless to hairy, very succulent, leathery with a thin layer of photosynthetic tissue and thick layers of water storage parenchyma, above green, violet below. Margin bearded with dense woolly hairs.
Inflorescences: Subsessile, arising at the centre of the rosette, peduncles much shorter than leaves, with tight spathe, formed by three bract-like leaflets shaped, a little shorter than the flowers.
Flowers: Between the pairs of boat shaped bracts, scarcely projecting. Tepals 3 purple. Petals 3, pink-violet or bluish, stamens 6. Flower-stalks very short.
Blooming season: Late summer.
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Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Tradescantia crassifolia group
Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de Lamarck, Jean Louis Marie Poiret “Encyclopédie méthodique botanique: Supplement” Agasse, 1811
2) M. Hayez., “Bulletins de l'Académie royale des sciences et belles-lettres de Bruxelles” 1842
3) Govaerts, R. (2004). “World Checklist of Monocotyledons” Database in ACCESS: 1-54382. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
4) Turner, B.L. (2006). “Texas species of Tradescantia (Commelinaceae).” Phytologia 88: 312-331.
5) Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). “Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas” 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
6) Accession Data: “Tradescantia crassifolia var. acaulis” (M.Martens & Galeotti) C.B.Clarke <http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/200900111.html> University of Connecticu. Web Fri, 20 Nov 2015
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