133 



TRADESCANTIA SPICATA. 



(Spike-flowered Tradescantia.) 



LINNE AN SYSTEM. AT , a . NATURAL ORDER. 



JNo. 124. 



HEXANDRIA— MONOGYNI A. COM MELINACE.3E. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Tradescantia (Lin.) Calyx 3-phyllus sequalis, persistens. Corolla 3-petala, sequalis. Stamina 

 filamentorum pilis articulatis. Stylus simplex. Stigma tubulosum. Capsula supera trilocularis. 

 Semina pauca dorso vel latere embrionifera. Herbce folia basi vaginantia, alterna, nervis 

 parallelis.— Bot. Reg. t. 482. 



Calyx 3-leaved, equal, persistent. Corolla 3-petalled, equal. Stamens having the hairs of 

 the filaments articulated. Style simple. Stigma tubulose. Capsule superior three-celled. Seeds 

 few, bearing the embryo either on the back or the side. Herbaceous plants, leaves sheathing at 

 the bases, alternate, with parallel veins. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



T. spicata ; foliis alternis lanceolatis acuminatis, vaginantibus, vaginis ciliatis ; floribus spicatis 

 axillaribus glomeratis ; fetalis ovatis obtusis calycibus pedunculisque villosis. 



heaves alternate, lanceolate, acuminate, sheathing, sheaths ciliate ; flowers arranged in spikes, 

 axillary, glomerate ; petals ovate, obtuse, calices and peduncles villous. 



Tradescantia spicata. — Flor. Cab., vol. ii., p. 159. 



Dbscr. — Perennial. Stem about two feet and a half high, enlarged at the joints. Leaves 

 alternate, lanceolate, acuminate, sheathing, sheaths ciliate. Flowers of a purplish blue colour, 

 axillary, numerous (12-15), situate within the sheaths of the leaves, and thus causing the 

 sheaths to have a gibbous appearance. Sepals three, much smaller than the petals, obtuse, 

 covered with villous hairs, edges scarious. Petals three times as large as the sepals, smooth, 

 obtuse. Peduncles about an inch long, villous. Bracts scarious. Stamens six, situate around 

 the base of tbe ovarium, and clothed with ^purple articulated hairs. Anthers yellow, shorter 

 than the style. Style smooth. Stigma obsoletely lobed. Ovarium densely covered with soft 

 villous white hairs, angular, three-celled, and three-valved. Seeds one in each cell, globular, 

 smooth. 



This is a pretty species, but surpassed in beauty by many of those previously 

 introduced, as T. Virginica for instance, which its flowers much resemble in colour ; 

 but they are smaller and paler. 



It is a native of Mexico, from which country it was imported by G. Barker, 

 Esq., in 1837 ; and presented by him to the Birmingham Botanical and Horti- 

 cultural Society, from a plant in which establishment our drawing was made. It 



