Boat Lily

Tradescantia spathacea is native to southern Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies.

Widely cultivated as an ornamental in S China. The flower is used medicinally for the treatment of dysentery, enterorrhagia, and hemoptysis.

Herbs, erect or ascending, rarely rooting at nodes. Stems unbranched, short. Leaves spirally arranged; blade usually abaxially purple, adaxially green, strap-shaped, to 35 ´ 5 cm (distal leaf blades wider or narrower than sheaths when sheaths opened, flattened), leathery, succulent, glabrous. Inflorescences axillary, sessile, or pedunculate in axils well below shoot apex, cymes enclosed in pairs of boat-shaped spathes. Flowers distinctly pedicillate; pedicels glabrous; sepals distinct, white, 3--6 mm, glabrous; petals distinct, white, ovate, not clawed; stamens free; filaments bearded. Capsules 3- or (by abortion) 2-locular, 3--4 mm. Seeds 1 per locule, 3--4 mm. 2n = 12 (Belize).

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 winter (Jan). Occasionally escaped to hammocks and weedy places; introduced; Fla.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America.

Naturalized. Hong Kong [native to Caribbean region and Central America].

Rhoeo discolor (L'Héritier) Hance ex Walpers; R. spathacea (Swartz) Stearn

Rhoeo discolor (L’Héritier) Hance; R. spathacea (Swartz) Stearn; Tradescantia discolor L’Héritier.