''Chirita'' was a formerly recognised

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

, native to the

Indo-Malayan realm The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the ...

of South and Southeast Asia and southern China. In 2011, the species in the genus were reassigned to several genera, so that ''Chirita'' became a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

, no longer recognized. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

''C. urticifolia'' was assigned to the genus '' Henckelia'' as '' H. urticifolia'' About (80-)150

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

were recognized, about 100 of which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to China. Most of the species have showy tubular flowers with five, usually rounded, petal lobes and are becoming increasingly popular as

houseplants A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions, much like their cousins the African violets. ''Chirita'' comes from a

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

ese common name for a gentian.

Taxonomic changes

The genus ''Chirita'' is no longer recognized, with many species transferred to the genera '' Primulina,'' '' Microchirita,'' and '' Deinostigma'', and several more (including the type species) to '' Henckelia.'' However, the former genus name is still sometimes used in horticultural literature, especially for the most commonly cultivated species, ''Chirita sinensis'' (now ''

Primulina dryas ''Primulina dryas'', called the oak-nymph-leaved primulina, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Primulina'', native to southeast China. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Meri ...

'').

General cultivation

Most can be grown in pots in warm (though some are known to tolerate colder conditions), humid conditions and can be propagated from seed (sown in the late winter) or by taking cuttings in the spring and summer. ''Chirita sinensis'' (now ''

'') and ''Chirita lavandulacea'' (now ''

Microchirita lavandulacea ''Microchirita lavandulacea'', called the lavender microchirita, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Microchirita'', native to southern Vietnam. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit The Award of Gar ...

)'' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (No ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

(confirmed 2017).

Taxonomic changes

General cultivation

References

External links