''Gesneria'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of approximately 50 species in the

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

family

Gesneriaceae 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 (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), wit ...

. Except for two or three odd

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

species, all are native to islands of the Caribbean. The genus is classified in the tribe Gesnerieae along with the genera ''

Bellonia ''Bellonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae 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 ( ...

'', ''

Pheidonocarpa ''Pheidonocarpa'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae 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 ...

'', and ''

Rhytidophyllum ''Rhytidophyllum'' is a genus of plant in family Gesneriaceae, native to the Caribbean islands and northern South America. Species * ''Rhytidophyllum acunae'' * ''Rhytidophyllum asperum'' * ''Rhytidophyllum auriculatum'' * ''Rhytidophyllum bert ...

''. ''Gesneria'' species are usually woody shrubs or

subshrub A subshrub ( Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their ...

s, and (with the closely related ''

'') 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. The genus name honors

Conrad Gessner Conrad Gessner (; la, Conradus Gesnerus 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his ta ...

Selected species

*'' Gesneria acaulis'' *'' Gesneria calycina'' *''

Gesneria calycosa ''Gesneria calycosa'' is a species of plant in the family Gesneriaceae. It is endemic to Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles a ...

'' *'' Gesneria christii'' *'' Gesneria citrina'' *'' Gesneria cuneifolia'' *'' Gesneria depressa'' *'' Gesneria exserta'' *'' Gesneria humilis'' *'' Gesneria pauciflora'' *'' Gesneria pedicellaris'' *'' Gesneria pedunculosa'' *'' Gesneria reticulata'' *'' Gesneria ventricosa''

External links

Skog, L.E. 1976. A Study of the Tribe Gesnerieae, with a Revision of ''Gesneria'' (Gesneriaceae: Gesnerioideae). ''Smithsonian Contributions to Botany''. 29: 1-182 (pdf file).
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The Genera of Gesneriaceae
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The Gesneriad Reference WebWorld Checklist of Gesneriaceae
Gesneriaceae genera {{Gesneriaceae-stub