Purple Heart
Tradescantia pallida
NEMBA: Category 1b
English: Purple Heart, Purple Queen, Purple Inch Plant, Wandering Jew, Setcreasea
Afrikaans: Pers Hart, Pers Inch Plant
Historical scientific names: Setcreasea purpurea
Tradescantia pallida, commonly known as Purple Heart or Purple Queen, is a striking alien invasive evergreen perennial. It is easily recognised by its long, trailing stems and distinctive succulent, lance-shaped leaves that are a vibrant deep purple colour.
Although it produces delicate pink flowers, this plant spreads aggressively, forming dense mats that out-compete indigenous vegetation and disrupt local ecosystems in South Africa.
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Origin:
Native to the Gulf Coast region of Mexico, specifically from Tamaulipas to Quintana Roo.
Distinguishing features:
Leaves are distinctly deep purple, elongated, and succulent.
Stems are trailing, robust, and root at nodes, forming dense groundcover.
Small, three-petalled, pale pink to lavender-pink flowers.
Forms thick, impenetrable mats, especially in shaded, moist areas.
All parts of the plant are purple.
Overall appearance:
The Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) is a very eye-catching plant, famous for its intense, uniform purple colour that covers its thick, succulent leaves and trailing stems. It grows quickly, creating a lush, deep purple carpet or cascading beautifully from containers. While its small, delicate pink flowers are a pretty contrast, it's the rich, vibrant purple foliage that truly makes this plant stand out.
Height:
Typically grows 15 to 30 centimetres tall, but its stems spread widely.
Width:
Forms a dense, spreading groundcover, capable of covering several square metres as its stems trail and root.
Leaves:
The leaves are alternate, succulent, elongated-lanceolate (lance-shaped) to ovate, and measure 7-15 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide. They are a striking, uniform deep purple to reddish-purple on both upper and lower surfaces, giving the entire plant its characteristic colour. The leaf surface is typically somewhat hairy, and the leaf sheaths (where the leaf base wraps around the stem) are also purple.
Flowers:
The flowers are small, regular, and have three distinct, often triangular, petals. They are pale pink to lavender-pink, sometimes almost white. The flowers are borne in small clusters at the tips of the stems, emerging from two boat-shaped bracts. Tradescantia pallida flowers are hermaphroditic.
Flowering season:
Flowers mainly in spring and summer (September to February), but can bloom sporadically throughout the year in warm, frost-free conditions.
Fruits:
The fruit is a small, three-valved capsule. However, effective seed production is generally low in South Africa, and the plant spreads overwhelmingly through vegetative means.
Seeds:
Seeds are very small, dark, and rarely produced in South Africa.
Thorns:
None.
Roots:
Produces a shallow, fibrous root system, with numerous adventitious roots readily forming at the nodes of its trailing stems wherever they touch the soil, allowing for rapid and extensive vegetative spread.
Soil type:
Highly adaptable to a wide range of well-drained soil types, including sandy, loamy, and even somewhat rocky soils. It tolerates both acidic and alkaline conditions. It thrives in soils with moderate moisture retention but can tolerate drier periods once established.
Aspect:
Thrives in full sun to partial shade. Full sun intensifies its purple colouration, while too much shade can cause it to become greener and leggy. It is drought-tolerant once established but performs best with moderate watering. It is sensitive to frost; severe frost will cause the foliage to die back, though the plant may recover from sheltered roots in milder climates. It spreads aggressively in warm, moist, and well-lit environments.
Ediblity:
Not considered edible for humans.
Toxicity:
Tradescantia pallida, like other Tradescantia species, is considered to have low toxicity, but direct contact with the sap can cause skin irritation, itching, or dermatitis in sensitive individuals and animals. If ingested, it may cause mild gastrointestinal upset (e.g., vomiting, diarrhoea) in pets. It's advisable to avoid contact with the sap and prevent ingestion.
Uses:
Historically and commonly used as an ornamental plant in gardens for its striking purple foliage, particularly in hanging baskets, containers, and as a groundcover.
Used as a houseplant due to its ease of care and attractive colour.
Due to its invasive nature in South Africa, its use should be strongly discouraged and replaced with indigenous alternatives.
Ecology:
As an alien invasive, Tradescantia pallida rapidly forms dense, impenetrable mats that smother indigenous groundcover plants, herbs, and young seedlings of larger plants. This is particularly problematic in natural areas, forest edges, open woodlands, and disturbed sites, where it outcompetes native flora, reduces biodiversity, and alters habitat structure. Its ability to root easily from broken stem fragments means it spreads extremely effectively, often transported by gardening activities or water flow.
Distribution and habitat:
As an alien invasive plant in South Africa, Tradescantia pallida is widely distributed and problematic, particularly in the summer rainfall regions. It is found in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and Gauteng provinces, and also in parts of the Western Cape. It invades disturbed sites, roadsides, open woodlands, forest edges, and urban green spaces. It is very common in gardens and often escapes cultivation.
Derivation of name:
The genus name Tradescantia honours John Tradescant the Elder and John Tradescant the Younger, 17th-century English naturalists and gardeners.
The species epithet pallida is Latin for 'pale' or 'faded', which is somewhat ironic given its vibrant purple colour; this might refer to the pale pink flowers or to some historical classification.
The common name "Purple Heart" directly refers to its striking purple foliage.
"Purple Queen" is another common name emphasising its regal colour.
Historical aspects:
Tradescantia pallida was widely introduced as an ornamental plant globally due to its striking colour, ease of cultivation, and robust nature. Its popularity as a hardy groundcover and container plant, especially in tropical and subtropical climates, unfortunately led to its escape from gardens and subsequent establishment as an invasive species in many regions, including South Africa. It has been a common feature in gardens for many decades before its ecological impact was fully understood.
Interesting facts:
This plant is famous for its super intense purple colour, which covers its leaves and stems – it's like a living amethyst!
It's so tough and easy to grow that even if a piece breaks off and lands on the ground, it'll often just start rooting and grow into a whole new plant!
While it looks amazing in a hanging basket, in the wild, it can be a bit of a bully, spreading super fast and taking over from our local plants.
Give it lots of sun, and its purple will get even deeper and more vibrant – it's like it's sun-tanning to show off its best colour!
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