Dozens of plants produce purple leaves, ranging from compact houseplants to full-sized landscape trees. The color comes from anthocyanins, pigments that act as a natural sunscreen and pest deterrent for the plant while creating striking visual contrast in your garden or home. Here’s a practical guide to the best options across every category.
Why Some Plants Have Purple Leaves
Green leaves get their color from chlorophyll, the pigment responsible for photosynthesis. Purple leaves contain the same chlorophyll but also produce high concentrations of anthocyanins, which mask the green with shades of purple, maroon, and burgundy. These pigments absorb UV radiation and help protect the plant’s DNA from sun damage, functioning much like sunscreen. They also deter certain insects, which tend to avoid red and purple foliage.
The trade-off is modest. Purple-leaved plants absorb more light energy than they can use for photosynthesis, so they dissipate the excess as heat. Research comparing purple and green basil found that purple varieties had lower quantum efficiency for capturing light, but this didn’t translate into a meaningful growth disadvantage. The plants compensated through other pathways, so carbon fixation remained comparable to green varieties.
Houseplants With Purple Foliage
Purple shamrock (Oxalis triangularis) is one of the most recognizable indoor options. Its triangular leaves are deep purple to maroon and fold closed at night, then reopen each morning. It grows from small bulbs and goes dormant periodically, which can alarm new owners, but it bounces back reliably after a few weeks of rest.
Tradescantia zebrina, commonly called inch plant, is a trailing species with lance-shaped leaves striped in green and purple. The undersides are a solid, deep purple. It grows fast, roots easily from cuttings, and works well in hanging baskets. Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus), native to Myanmar, India, and China, produces large iridescent leaves that shimmer between purple and silver. It’s one of the most vividly colored houseplants available.
Several Calathea species offer purple on the undersides of their leaves. Rose-painted Calathea (Calathea roseopicta) has dark green tops with pink veining, while the underside is deep purple. The leaves fold upward in the evening, revealing that hidden color. Calathea ‘White Fusion’ adds swirling patterns of white, green, and lilac-purple across the leaf surface.
Trees for Landscaping
If you want purple foliage at a larger scale, several tree cultivars hold their color through the growing season. Norway maple cultivars like ‘Crimson King,’ ‘Royal Red,’ and ‘Crimson Sentry’ are among the most widely planted purple-leaved trees in North America. They’re hardy, tolerate a range of soils, and maintain deep purple leaves from spring through fall. ‘Crimson Sentry’ has a narrower, more columnar form suited to tighter spaces.
Japanese maples offer a more refined option. Purple-leaf cultivars of Acer palmatum produce deeply lobed foliage in shades from burgundy to near-black. They prefer partial shade in hot climates and stay relatively small, typically 15 to 25 feet depending on the cultivar. Purple beech (Fagus sylvatica cultivars) is a larger, stately choice for big properties, with broad canopies of dark copper-purple leaves.
For smaller yards, ornamental crabapples like ‘Prairiefire,’ ‘Purple Prince,’ and Royal Raindrops produce purplish new growth that makes them stand out in spring, with the bonus of flowers and small fruit. These typically top out around 20 feet and work well as accent trees.
Garden Perennials and Ground Covers
Coral bells (Heuchera) are the workhorses of purple foliage in perennial gardens. Cultivars like ‘Palace Purple’ and ‘Obsidian’ produce mounding clumps of ruffled leaves in shades from plum to nearly black. They thrive in partial shade, tolerate full sun in cooler climates, and send up delicate flower spikes in late spring. Heuchera is one of the few purple-leaved perennials that performs well in shade.
Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is a low-growing ground cover with glossy purple-bronze leaves and short spikes of blue flowers. It spreads aggressively, which makes it excellent for filling bare patches under trees but a potential nuisance near formal beds. Smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’) sits between a large shrub and a small tree, with disc-shaped leaves that flash maroon-red when backlit by the sun. It’s especially striking in fall.
Tropical and Warm-Climate Plants
Ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa) is a tropical staple with arching, blade-like leaves in shades from chocolate brown to vivid magenta, depending on the cultivar. The compact ‘Purple Compacta’ variety stays around 20 inches tall and works well as a container plant in cooler zones or a landscape accent in frost-free areas. It prefers bright shade to partial sun and well-draining soil.
Elephant ear cultivars like Colocasia ‘Black Magic’ produce enormous heart-shaped leaves in deep, dusty purple. They need consistent moisture and warmth, growing best in zones 8 through 11 or as annuals in colder climates. These plants make a dramatic statement near water features or in large containers on patios.
Edible Plants With Purple Leaves
Purple-leaved edibles are more than decorative. The same anthocyanins that create the color function as antioxidants when you eat them. Red cabbage, purple kale, and ‘Dark Opal’ basil are common garden choices that add both color and nutritional value to meals.
Purple sweet potato leaves are especially notable. They contain the highest concentration of polyphenols, particularly flavonoids, of any commonly grown vegetable. Research has shown that eating them regularly can modulate immune function, influencing the activity of natural killer cells and antibody production. The leaves are widely consumed in tropical regions like Taiwan, where they grow easily year-round.
Purple-fleshed sweet potatoes themselves pack between 10 and 97 milligrams of anthocyanins per 100 grams of fresh weight, with darker varieties like Stokes Purple containing three to five times more than lighter purple cultivars. For comparison, blueberries typically contain around 100 milligrams per 100 grams.
Keeping Purple Leaves Vibrant
Light is the single biggest factor in maintaining purple foliage. Anthocyanin production increases with sun exposure, so purple-leaved plants grown in deep shade often revert to greener tones as the plant prioritizes chlorophyll. For houseplants like Persian shield and Tradescantia, bright indirect light keeps colors intense. For outdoor plants, full sun to part sun generally produces the deepest pigmentation.
Seasonal conditions also matter. Abundant summer moisture, sunny days, and cool but not freezing nighttime temperatures create the conditions for the richest colors. This is why purple and red foliage often looks its most dramatic in early fall. If your purple-leaved plant is fading to green, the first thing to try is moving it to a brighter spot.