Tradescantia spathacea

Rhoeo

Scientific name : Tradescantia spathacea

Family : Commelinaceae

 native to Belize, Guatemala, and southern Mexico.

commonly called Moses-in-a-basket or oyster plant,

it is a clump-forming evergreen perennial 

 It is widely cultivated in tropical areas because of its attractive foliage.

It has shown invasive tendencies by escaping gardens and naturalizing in parts of Louisiana and Florida. 

It typically grows as a 6-12" tall rosette consisting of narrow, spirally arranged, linear-lanceolate, stiffly-ascending, sword-shaped, dark green leaves (to 6-12" long) with purple undersides. Plants will spread to form a dense ground cover over time.

White flowers in axillary cymes are enclosed by long-lasting, boat-shaped, purple bracts, hence the common name of Moses-in-a-basket. Flowers bloom throughout the year. 

Flowers are followed by fruit