Cook Islands Biodiversity & Natural Heritage
 

Tradescantia zebrina

Mauku Papa‘ā (MG)

Silvery Wandering-Jew

Multimedia & Additional Resources

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Silvery Wandering-Jew, Mexican Wandering-Jew, Wandering Jew

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Mauku Papa‘ā (MG), Mauku (MK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Mexico

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Ornamental leaves

KEY FEATURES: Creeping herb with succulent brittle leaves. STEMS creeping, rooting at nodes. LEAVES narrow-oval tapering to a point, to 10x4cm; above bluish-green or purple with silvery central stripe, below ±purple. FLOWERS solitary, 2 boat-like bracts to 6cm, tube white to 10x1mm; 3 petals pink to purple to violet, to 10x7mm.

Enlarged Image of 'Tradescantia zebrina'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present    Makatea: Present
RR 
MG
AT
MK
MT
AK
PL
TK
MN
+++
++++
-
++L
-
-
-

Northern Group:
TN 
MH
RK
PK
NS
SW
-
-
-
-
-
-

Key to Symbols

Scientific Taxonomy

Tradescantia zebrina Hort. ex Bosse
SYNONYMS: Zebrina penula; Zebrina purpusii

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); COMMELINIDAE; Commelinales; COMMELINACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Mangaia: fieldsight+photo, inner base of makatea, 10/2000, ID GMcC.

References:
p.183 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.305 Tropica
p.1/282 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.29 R Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.378g Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03b, zD02, zupD04a

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org. Copy citation to system clipboard
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