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.
Lysimachia is a genus consisting of 193 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family was later merged into the Primulaceae.
The silversword alliance, also known as the tarweeds, refers to an adaptive radiation of around 30 species in the composite or sunflower family, Asteraceae. The group is endemic to Hawaii, and is derived from a single immigrant to the islands. For radiating from a common ancestor at an estimated 5.2±0.8 Ma, the clade is extremely diverse, composed of trees, shrubs, subshrubs, mat-plants, cushion plants, rosette plants, and lianas.
Codonanthe is a genus of mainly epiphytic plants in the family Gesneriaceae, endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. The botanical name comes from the Ancient Greek for 'bellflower'. They have white or pale pink flowers and somewhat fleshy leaves. In 2013, the genus was reduced in size when more than half of the species were transferred to Codonanthopsis. They can be grown as houseplants, particularly in hanging baskets. Artificial crosses with Nematanthus hybrids have produced the hybrid genus × Codonatanthus.
Cyrtandra paliku is a rare species of flowering plant in the African violet family known by the common name cliffside cyrtandra. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is known only from the island of Kauai. The plant was first discovered in 1993 and it was described to science as a new species in 2001. At the time it was discovered there was only one population containing 70 individuals; a 2006 count revealed only ten plants remaining. It was federally listed as an endangered species in 2010. Like other Hawaiian Cyrtandra it is called ha`iwale.
Cyrtandra cleopatrae is a species of plant in the family Gesneriaceae endemic to the Philippines. It is a tropical shrub having recaulescent inflorescences composed of multiple purpled flowers that emerge on the plant stem from stubby shoots. It was first collected for science during a 1998 expedition sponsored by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, from a location in Palawan called Cleopatra's Needle (elev. 1550m), thus the specific epithet "cleopatrae". The taxon was first published in the Edinburgh Journal of Botany in 2001.
Cyrtandra waiolani is a species of plant in the family Gesneriaceae. The species was endemic to Koʻolau Range in Hawaii, and is extinct in the wild.
One of the major human migration events was the maritime settlement of the islands of the Indo-Pacific by the Austronesian peoples, believed to have started from at least 5,500 to 4,000 BP. These migrations were accompanied by a set of domesticated, semi-domesticated, and commensal plants and animals transported via outrigger ships and catamarans that enabled early Austronesians to thrive in the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia, Near Oceania (Melanesia), Remote Oceania, Madagascar, and the Comoros Islands.
The Didymocarpoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Gesneriaceae. It was formerly the subfamily Cyrtandroideae. This subfamily consists mostly of tropical and subtropical Old World genera, found in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. One species is native to Central and South America.
Cyrtandra heinrichii, known as ha'iwale or lava cyrtandra, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae. It is found on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Rosemary Margaret Smith (1933–2004) was a Scottish botanist and illustrator who specialized in the taxonomy of the Zingiberaceae, or ginger family. Many of the species she classified and identified as being placed into improper genera were found in Asian countries, especially in the isolated island of Borneo.
Cyrtandra albiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Indonesia. It is only found on Mount Hek on the island of Sulawesi.
Cyrtandra laxiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Hawaii. It is only found on the windward side of Oʻahu.
Cyrtandra paludosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Hawaii. It is found on all the Hawaiian islands except Lanai.
Cyrtandra platyphylla, the ʻilihia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Hawaii. A common shrub of the rainforest understory, it is found on Maui and the big island of Hawaii.
Cyrtandra kaulantha, the Waikane valley cyrtandra, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Oahu, Hawaii. It is of hybrid origin, with the parents possibly being C. grandiflora and C. hawaiensis.
Cyrtandra yaeyamae is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Iriomote Island in Japan, and Batan Island in the Philippines. It is very similar in appearance to Cyrtandra cumingii.
Cyrtandra cumingii is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to the Philippines. It is very similar in appearance to Cyrtandra yaeyamae.
Cyrtandra lysiosepala, or oppositeleaf cyrtandra, is a species of plant in the Gesneriad family that is endemic to the island of Hawai'i, where it grows in wet tropical rainforests.
Cyrtandra argentii is a plant in the family Gesneriaceae that was discovered in the Philippines in 1997. This plant species is one of many named after tropical botanist George Argent, as he contributed heavily to many discoveries in and the understanding of Philippine flora.
