Gesneria

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	perennial

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Gesneriaceae >

Gesneria >

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Gesneria is a genus of approximately 50 species in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. Except for two or three odd South American species, all are native to islands of the Caribbean. The genus is classified in the tribe Gesnerieae along with the genera Bellonia, Pheidonocarpa, and Rhytidophyllum. Gesneria species are usually woody shrubs or subshrubs, and (with the closely related Rhytidophyllum) are unusual in the family in having alternately (rather than decussately) arranged leaves. A complete list of the accepted species and their synonyms can be found in the Smithsonian Institution's World Checklist of Gesneriaceae.

Read about Gesneria in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Gesneria (Conrad Gesner, Zurich, 1516-1565, celebrated naturalist, and considered to be the originator of the idea of genus in taxonomy). Gesneriaceae. Greenhouse and hothouse plants with showy tubular flowers. Sometimes written Gesnera. Low perennials, sometimes shrubs, with simple, opposite lvs. and showy tubular fls. in terminal short panicles or fascicles: calyx campanulate, 5-parted; corolla long, straight or curved, more or less ventricose, the base often distinctly swollen or gibbous, the limb mostly shallow-toothed and nearly regular or bilabiate; stamens 4, didynamous (in pairs under the upper lip); style 1, long; glands on the disk in the fl.—Species upward of 40. in the American tropics. Often tuberous plants; allied to Achimenes, Gloxinia, Isoloma and Streptocarpus. Some of the gesnerias of the trade belong to Niegelia, which differs, amongst other things, in having an annular or ringed disk rather than a disk of distinct glands. There is considerable variation of opinion as to the limits of Gesneria. In this account, the genus is held to include Pentarhaphia, Duchartrea, Codonoraphia, Conradia, Ophianthe, Synanthera. The plants of this group are probably considerably modified by crossing and breeding. The catalogue name G. hybrida probably covers some of these forms. G. amabilis, Hort.(syn. Naegelia).—G. cinnabarina, Lind. (syn. Naegelia). —G. guatemalensis, Hort., "a free grower and bloomer, fls. orange," was once offered.—G. jasminiflora, Hort., "fls. of the purest white, freely produced, beautiful," once offered.—G. oblonga, Hort., fls. orange.—G. oblongata, Hort., is probably the same and is very likely an Isoloma.-G. reginae, Hort. Exhibited abroad: lvs. green and velvety, the midrib and main veins white: fls. bluish purple.— G. robusta, Hort.. "vermilion, beautifully spotted and tigered." —G. seemannii, Hook. (syn. Isolomu).—G. zeorina, Paxt. (syn. Naegelia). CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Species

Selected species

• Gesneria acaulis
• Gesneria christii
• Gesneria citrina
• Gesneria cuneifolia
• Gesneria humilis
• Gesneria pauciflora
• Gesneria pedicellaris
• Gesneria pedunculosa
• Gesneria reticulata
• Gesneria ventricosa

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Gesneria. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Gesneria QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)