Tradescantia zanonia(L.) Sw.

WFO wfo-0000590320 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Tradescantia zanonia, photographed by Sobeida Morales
fig. a Sobeida Morales, CC0 1.0 / 2022-06-08 / obs. 205679775
Tradescantia zanonia, photographed by Attila Oláh
fig. b Attila Oláh, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 190274232
Tradescantia zanonia, photographed by Attila Oláh
fig. c Attila Oláh, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 190294294
Tradescantia zanonia, photographed by Attila Oláh
fig. d Attila Oláh, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 189465498
Tradescantia zanonia, photographed by Tom Field
fig. e Tom Field, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 185596008
Tradescantia zanonia, photographed by Sue Carnahan
fig. f Sue Carnahan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 177590604
Tradescantia zanonia, photographed by Kai Squires
fig. g Kai Squires, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 175083826
Tradescantia zanonia, photographed by Trevor Van Loon
fig. h Trevor Van Loon, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 178687442

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 29 botanical countries

Regions where Tradescantia zanonia is native: Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panamá, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáPeruPuerto RicoTrinidad-TobagoVenezuela Venezuelan Antilles
Native distribution of Tradescantia zanonia, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Belize BLZ SOUTHERN AMERICA
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Mexico Central MXC NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 20 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Campelia bibracteata Wied-Neuwied
  • Campelia boucheana Schult.f.
  • Campelia fastigiata Schltdl.
  • Campelia fendleri Hassk.
  • Campelia glabrata Kunth
  • Campelia hoffmannii Hassk.
  • Campelia mexicana Mart. ex Kunth
  • Campelia pseudozanonia Kunth
  • Campelia scandens Hassk.
  • Campelia zanonia (L.) Kunth
  • Campelia zanonia var. glabrata (Kunth) C.B.Clarke
  • Campelia zanonia var. sessilis C.B.Clarke
  • Commelina zanonia L.
  • Gonatandra tradescantioides Schltdl.
  • Sarcoperis bibracteata (Cramer) Raf.
  • Tradescantia capitata Vell.
  • Tradescantia capitata Sessé & Moc.
  • Tradescantia gentianifolia Salisb.
  • Tradescantia gonatandra Schltdl.
  • Zanonia bibracteata Cramer

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.