Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World and the New World, with a very small number extending to temperate areas. Many species have colorful and showy flowers and are cultivated as ornamental plants.
Episcia is a genus of flowering plants in the African violet family, Gesneriaceae. The ten species it contains are native to the tropical regions of Central and South America. The species are perennial herbaceous plants characterized by a stoloniferous habit, red flowers, and frequently have marked or patterned leaves. Episcias are sometimes called flame violets.
Gloxinia is a genus containing three species of tropical rhizomatous herbs in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The species are primarily found in the Andes of South America, but Gloxinia perennis is also found in Central America and the West Indies, where it has probably escaped from cultivation.
Columnea is a genus of around 200 species of epiphytic herbs and shrubs in the family Gesneriaceae, native to the tropics of the Americas and the Caribbean. The tubular or oddly shaped flowers are usually large and brightly colored – usually red, yellow, or orange – sometimes resembling a fish in shape. A common name is flying goldfish plants due to the unusual flower shape.
Achimenes is a genus of about 25 species of tropical and subtropical rhizomatous perennial herbs in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. They have a multitude of common names such as magic flowers, widow's tears, Cupid's bower, or hot water plant.
Kohleria is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are rhizomatous and commonly include a period of dormancy in their growth cycle. The genus was revised in 1992 and was then recognized as having 19 species distributed in Central America and South America. phylogenetic in 2005 indicated that the epiphytic genus Capanea is derived from within Kohleria, and the two species of Capanea were subsequently transferred to Kohleria. The genus Pearcea is closely related.
Seemannia is a New World genus in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. There are four species in the genus, primarily found in the Andean regions of South America. The name honors the German botanist Berthold Carl Seemann.
Alsobia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. It contains four species.
Sinningia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. It is named after Wilhelm Sinning (1792–1874), a gardener of the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. There are about 65 species of tuberous herbaceous perennials, all occurring in Central and South America, with the greatest concentration of species occurring in southern Brazil.
Nematanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. All of its species are endemic to Brazil. Compared to other gesneriads, Nematanthus has leaves that are small, succulent, and hard-surfaced. The plant has a trailing, branching, and spreading habit; it is generally an epiphyte in nature and a hanging-basket plant in cultivation. The flower has fused petals. In some species, the flower has a "pouch" at the bottom. The fancied resemblance of such flowers to a goldfish gives these plants the common name goldfish plant or guppy plant.
Columnea consanguinea is a species of flowering plants in the genus Columnea. They are endemic to Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Panama. They are distinctive for possessing red translucent heart-shaped markings on their leaves that serve to attract their main pollinators - the hummingbird Heliodoxa jacula - to their more inconspicuous flowers.
The Gesnerioideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Gesneriaceae: based on the type genus Gesneria. Although genera typically originate in the New World, some species have become widely distributed as ornamental plants.
An ant garden is a mutualistic interaction between certain species of arboreal ants and various epiphytic plants. It is a structure made in the tree canopy by the ants that is filled with debris and other organic matter in which epiphytes grow. The ants benefit from this arrangement by having a stable framework on which to build their nest while the plants benefit by obtaining nutrients from the soil and from the moisture retained there.
Alain Chautems is research associate at the Geneva "Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève, Switzerland. He specialized in some of the most diverse Gesneriaceae of Brazil. Until 2016, he was researcher and curator at the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the City of Geneva.
Codonanthopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. Its native range is from southern Mexico through tropical America to Bolivia and most of Brazil. Codonanthopsis species are generally trailing epiphytes with pale flowers. Most have a mutualistic relationship with tree-living ants: the plants provide the ants with food, including nectar, and give their nests structure and support, while the ants disperse the plants' seeds. The genus was considerably expanded in 2013 when species were transferred from Codonanthe. Some Codonanthopsis species are cultivated as houseplants, when they may be grown in hanging baskets.
Rufodorsia is a genus of epiphytic flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. The genus name refers to the reddish back of the upper lobes of the flower. The relationship of Rufodorsia with the genus Oerstedina is uncertain, as of April 2021. It is native to montane cloud forest in Central America.
Oerstedina is a genus of epiphytic flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama. The relationship of Oerstedina to the genus Rufodorsia is uncertain, as of April 2021.
Moussonia is a genus of plants in the family Gesneriaceae. Its native range stretches from Mexico to Central America. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panamá.
Codonanthopsis anisophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae. This species is native in Guyana and mainly grows in wet tropical biomes. The species was first described in the genus Paradrymonia from a specimen collected in 1960, and transferred to Codonanthopsis in 2013.
Codonanthopsis corniculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae. This species is native to Peru and mainly grows in wet tropical biomes. Codonanthopsis corniculata, along with its other species in its genus, was first published in 2013.
