''Gibasis pellucida'', also known as Tahitian bridal veil, is a trailing plant in the family

Commelinaceae Commelinaceae is a family of flowering plants. In less formal contexts, the group is referred to as the dayflower family or spiderwort family. It is one of five families in the order Commelinales and by far the largest of these with about 731 kn ...

that is native to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, southwest

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, the plant is often mislabelled as the related species ''

Gibasis geniculata ''Gibasis geniculata'' is a trailing plant in the family Commelinaceae, native to Mexico and tropical America. The cultivated plant commonly known as Tahitian bridal veil is often labelled as ''Gibasis geniculata'', however its true species is ...

''.

Description

A creeping plant growing to 20cm or 50cm, it features thin stems and narrow green leaves that have a purple underside. Small and showy white flowers would appear in abundance over the plant in most part of the year.Rohweder, 1956 ''In: Abh. Auslandsk., Reihe C, Naturwiss. 61(18): 143''

Cultivation

Commonly grown as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in hanging baskets and as a

groundcover Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought. In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as t ...

, it flourishes in warmth and humidity, but it must be protected from direct sunshine and severe frost. It can readily root from cuttings.Tahitian Bridal Veil (Gibasis geniculata)
The National Gardening Association - Plants Database

References

pellucida Flora of Mexico Flora of Argentina Flora of Texas {{Commelinales-stub