Tradescantia pallida

Tradescantia pallida is a species of spiderwort native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. The cultivar T. pallida 'Purpurea' is commonly called purple secretia, purple-heart, or purple queen. Edward Palmer collected the type specimen near Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas in 1907.

Names
The Latin specific epithet pallida means "pale".

Description
Tradescantia pallida is an evergreen perennial plant of a scrambling, climbing growth habit and vine-like stature. Small aerial roots will form along the stem, which root the vine further in-place and give greater stamina to the overall plant body. It is distinguished by vivid purple, elongated and slightly pointed leaves—generally a glaucous green, turning more vividly purple in full sunlight and times of drought—and bearing small, three-petaled flowers of white, pink or purple. Plants are susceptible to overwatering, moderate frosts, or any temperature below about 40°F (4.44°C); in times of cold-induced seasonal die-back, the rootball will remain sheltered underground, eventually sprouting again from the base. In the coldest of regions, deadheading, fall pruning, mulching and placing the rootball just slightly higher than the planting hole—to ensure that pooling water beneath the roots is not a threat—are all key to the plant surviving cold and/or wet conditions.

The cultivar T. pallida 'Purpurea' has purple leaves and pink flowers.

Cultivation
Widely used as an ornamental plant in gardens and borders, as a ground cover, hanging plant, or—particularly in colder climates where it cannot survive the winter season—houseplant, it is propagated easily by cuttings (the stems are visibly segmented and roots will frequently grow from the joints).

As a houseplant, T. pallida has been judged exceptionally effective at improving indoor air quality by filtering out volatile organic compounds, a class of common pollutants and respiratory irritants, an effect known as phytoremediation.

Numerous cultivars are available, of which 'Purpurea' with purple foliage has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.