Tradescantia sillamontana possibly?

Also know as "kitten ears".

It is purple heart plant. Some are more fuzzy than others

here is a link to info

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradescantia_pallida

Tradescantia sillamontana has smaller and fuzzier leaves

here is a link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradescantia_sillamontana

This post was edited by teengardener1888 on Fri, Apr 19, 13 at 17:38

Where did you get the pic?

We used to call that Setcreasea.

Setcreasea purpurea isnt fuzzy like that...but if it's getting enough sun,..it gets way purple. :)

Hi Purple! I took the photo myself of cuttings I recently started.

Here is a top view of the pot next to the green "woolie", which I believe is T. sillamontana.

That doesn't look like a "normal" T. pallida. Where did you get the cuttings? What are the chevron leaves? Persicaria? Going out to look at some T. pallida plants...

Well the plants coming up in the ground are completely hair-less. The pot of cuttings that came inside for winter have quite a bit of fuzz.

A little more background about the mama plant, if you know, might help the investigation, and observing its' behavior as it grows. Flowers would be helpful as well.

I recently put a new plant, T. 'Red Hill' from Exotic Angel on NTP and the best answer I got about its' heritage is that it's most likely a hybrid between 2 Trads. I'm torn between wondering if your plant is a 'mutt' like that, or just a very hairy T. pallida.

Overwintered inside:
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Same as previous with flash:
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Plant that lives in the ground:
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I believe T. pallida doesnt have hairy leaves. But T.sillamontana is smaller, fuzzier and grayer. I dont believe it is either. So I am open to suggestions, as I am trying to learn to listen to other people's reasonings

Well the plant(s) in the pot were pieces broken off of the plants in the ground and put in that pot before frost last fall. (So now I have more.) So apparently it can be hairy/fuzzy. The plant inside was in an east window all winter, the ground plants go dormant/invisible, hence the reason I saved the best-looking parts before they got frosted. Sorry I didn't make that clear above.

It's definitely not as fuzzy as Grey's, and the leaves on her plant are much shorter, the nodes are closer together. Probably the same difference, in addition to the heavy fuzz, that others are seeing.

TG, it's a frustrating reality that it's just not possible to ever "for sure" ID some plants. The list of reasons are as long as, well, something really long, as well as the types of plants that come instantly to mind. Like the phrase "agree to disagree," if you can recognize that it's OK and not uncommon for ID's to sometimes be impossible, at least at a current time or without waiting for the plant to "do something" or recover from some malady, I think you might feel more comfortable and understanding about some of these ID discussions. Adding opinions from experience, pics for comparison, stuff like that, is always helpful and appreciated. All that is needed is to start the sentence with "I think" instead of "It is" and you should have no problems.

There is also the fact that not everybody who might know may have yet visited this discussion. Sadly but truly, some people are unable to visit GW often.

Thanks for the advice purpleinopp.

Hi Purple, my plant is definitely different from yours. I saw the mother plant in a hanging basket, and the owner plucked off a few starts for me. Original plant was growing in a nice greenhouse, so I expect mine will probably lose some of its compactness and deep purple color since all I have to offer it is shade. But so far, the plant doesn't even seem to realize it is a cutting with no roots!

Yeah, Tradescantias don't mind whatever propagation experiments you can concoct. Does the owner of the "mama" realize it's an unusual plant "we" can't ID?

I am having the same difficulty identifying my plant. I am posting several photos of the SAME plant taken from 11-27-12 through 8-23-13. This plant changes according to light, amount of water, and perhaps temperature. Most of the information I have found on Tradescantia sillamontata says their leaves grow differently than Tradescantia pallida. The first photo is close to when I received it on 10-27-12.

This is a photo taken of the same plant on 2-17-13. In this photo, it has been in the sunroom for a few months an it has gotten REALLY hairy.

I moved to Missouri and took this plant with me. The trip was when the temps were in the 30's and it was in the back of a trailer. I had to put it in very low light in the basement and it completely died back. When it came up, the leaves were NOT purple... This photo was taken on 6-1-13 after it had been back outside in filtered light for a few weeks.

This photo was taken on 7-14-13. Now the leaves are purple again and there are still a few "hairs"...

This is still the same plant, almost hairless. The leaves are shorter and wider than those of my Tradescantia pallida, and it doesn't grow as rampantly (which is a good thing). SO, it is definitely different than Tradescantia pallida. BUT, it doesn't grow leaves in the same manner as Tradescantia sillamontana and the leaves are not rear as hairy. One website states that their loose their hair apperance with to dark a location, abundant watering, and an excess of nitrogen. OK, fine. So what species is it? I have two blogs, The Mystical Mansion and Garden and The Belmont Rooster. I do a lot of plant research and have grown close to 300 different plants. This one stumps me...

Have you seen any flowers?

Any Trad with purple involved in the leaves seems to be highly variable, adaptable. They all do the 'schizo' thing, it's wild!

The 'Red Hill' plant I got is totally different in different places too, and I'm not sure anymore which cuttings are which in a lot of pots, and the mama plants change so much, they're almost hard to keep track of too, I have to go by the actual pot, not by looking at the plants. Wishing I'd kept the EA tag for the red hill one. It looks about the same as T. sillamontana... today anyway. After I've watched them all for a couple more years, maybe it will be more apparent, the differences.

Next spring, I'm going to make a pot with a piece of every (supposedly different) kind I have, so they are all in the exact same spot/atmosphere, and see what they do...!

Fascinating pictorial, thanks!!

Always assumed this to be setcreasea purpurea,and I said upthread that they don't get fuzzy,but I'm seeing what looks to be SOME fuzz here. In the meantime I just wanted to say that I expected some seriously dark purple to start showing up when I put it out in spring.

This is all that months now in full sun has brought me thus far...shade perhaps?

P.S. LOVE everyone's pics!! :)

This is a photo of a Tradescantia pallida. While, at times, they do have a little fine fuzz that you hardly even pay any attention to unless you get up close. I am trying to figure out the one that looks like a mammal that has grown a set of fur for the winter. The previous photos are all of the SAME plant. Definitely not a Tradescantia pallida and almost certain it isn't a Tradescantia sillamontana. Oh, by the way, Tradescantia pallida became the accepted name in 1955 with Setcreasea purpurea as a synonym. Many websites still use the old name, though. It is really hard to keep up with the correct names when some companies don't change them with the botanists do. I have several photos of the Purple Heart taken at various times of the year and in different locations and they will be on my blog, The Belmont Rooster, shortly. Maybe even today...

They flower pretty well starting late in the summer, usually by October (in Mississippi anyway), they are in full swing. I don't have will get the photos and page done on the blog TODAY hopefully. I am trying to figure out how to change my use nam to the Belmont Rooster. Any ideas how to do this?

Here is a link that might be useful: The Belmont Rooster

Lost track of this thread...

The last 2 pics posted are definitely T. pallida. There are cultivars.

One of my EA plants tagged Tradescantia zebrina 'Red Hill' turns out to be Cyanotis somaliensis. Throwing that out there to help anyone else with one of these - I've seen a lot of them out there!

In case anyone is looking at this thread to identify their plants, I wanted to post the accurate identity of the above plant. All but the last 2 pictures are a cultivar of Tradescantia pallida called ‘Pale Puma’. It has shorter hairier leaves and is dubbed the color changing T. pallida.

OMG! THANK YOU FOR THIS! I have a plant I just got that was labeled as Tradescantia pallida "purple heart" but it's definitely NOT by the looks of the other ones. Mine is purple and fuzzy too! I am so glad someone finally identified this. Here is mine.

Is this the same type of plant? i have not seen it flower..and it is fuzzy. Grows quickly& leaves are green near stem, but most purple.