''Gloxinia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

containing three species of

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s in the

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

family

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family (biology), 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 Ges ...

. The species are primarily found in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, but ''Gloxinia perennis'' is also found in

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, where it has probably escaped from cultivation. ''Gloxinia perennis'' is the original (type) species of the genus, and for much of its history the genus consisted of only ''G. perennis'' and a very small number of other species. The classification of ''Gloxinia'' later changed reflect the 1976 classification of

Hans Wiehler Hans Joachim Wiehler (8 July 1930 in Klecie, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Klettendorf – 2003) was a German botanist who specialized in the plant family Gesneriaceae. In 1954 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana ...

, who took a broader view of the genus. A recent analysis of ''Gloxinia'' and related genera based on molecular and morphological work has determined that Wiehler's circumscription of the genus was unnatural, both

phylogenetically In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data ...

and morphologically. The analyses demonstrated that the genera ''Anodiscus'' and ''Koellikeria'', each with a single species, were more closely related to ''Gloxinia perennis'' than were any of the other species included in ''Gloxinia'' by Wiehler, several of which proved to be more closely related to other genera (particularly ''

Diastema A diastema (: diastemata, from Greek , 'space') is a space or gap between two teeth. Many species of mammals have diastemata as a normal feature, most commonly between the incisors and molars. More colloquially, the condition may be referred to ...

'', ''

Monopyle ''Monopyle'' is a genus of plants in the family Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old ...

'', and ''

Phinaea ''Phinaea'' is a genus of flowering plants in family Gesneriaceae. It contains three species native to the Americas, including western and central Mexico, Cuba and Haiti, and Colombia and northern Brazil. Species Three species are accepted. * ' ...

''). As a result of this work, most former ''Gloxinia'' species have been transferred to other genera while ''Koellikeria erinoides'' and ''Anodiscus xanthophyllus'' have been transferred into a much more narrowly defined ''Gloxinia'' consisting of only three species, all of them characterized by having a

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

-like flowering stem. Former ''Gloxinia'' species have been transferred to a large number of other genera, including the existing genera ''

'' and ''

Sinningia ''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 her ...

'', the resurrected genera ''

Mandirola ''Mandirola'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae. It is native to Bolivia and Brazil. The genus name of ''Mandirola'' is in honour of Agostino Mandirola (d. 1661), Italian clergyman, naturalist and botanist with ...

'' and ''

Seemannia ''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. Taxonomic his ...

'', and the new genera ''

Gloxinella ''Gloxinella'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae. It only contains one species, ''Gloxinella lindeniana'' (Regel) Roalson & Boggan It is native to Colombia. The genus name is in honour of Benjamin P ...

'', ''

Gloxiniopsis ''Gloxiniopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics a ...

'', ''

Nomopyle ''Nomopyle'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and s ...

'', and ''

Sphaerorrhiza ''Sphaerorrhiza'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics ...

''. ''Gloxinia perennis'' forms fertile hybrids with species of ''Seemannia'', which was the primary reason for uniting the two genera in the past. ''

Sinningia speciosa ''Sinningia speciosa'', sometimes known in the horticultural trade as gloxinia, is a Tuber, tuberous member of the flowering plant native to Brazil within the family Gesneriaceae. Originally included in the genus ''Gloxinia (genus), Gloxinia'' i ...

'', a popular houseplant, was originally described and introduced into cultivation as ''Gloxinia speciosa'' and is still sometimes referred to as "gloxinia" or "florist's gloxinia", although this name is now inaccurate and technically incorrect. Similarly, "hardy gloxinia" is ''

Incarvillea delavayi ''Incarvillea delavayi'', the socalled hardy gloxinia or flowering fern, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bignoniaceae, native to western Sichuan and northwest Yunnan provinces of China. The true '' Gloxinia'' are members of the Gesn ...

'', a member of the

Bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae () is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the Order (biology), order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpet vines.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant ...

Species

Five species are accepted. ;Selected excluded species Mandirola multiflora

*''Gloxinia burchellii'' = '' Sphaerorrhiza burchellii'' *''Gloxinia dodsonii'' = '' Nomopyle dodsonii'' *''Gloxinia gymnostoma'' = '' Seemannia gymnostoma'' *''Gloxinia hirsuta'' = '' Sinningia hirsuta'' *''Gloxinia ichthyostoma'' = ''

Mandirola ichthyostoma ''Mandirola'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae. It is native to Bolivia and Brazil. The genus name of ''Mandirola'' is in honour of Agostino Mandirola (d. 1661), Italian clergyman, naturalist and botanist with ...

'' *''Gloxinia lindeniana'' = '' Gloxinella lindeniana'' *''Gloxinia nematanthodes'' = '' Seemannia nematanthodes'' *''Gloxinia planalta'' = ''

Mandirola multiflora ''Mandirola'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae. It is native to Bolivia and Brazil. The genus name of ''Mandirola'' is in honour of Agostino Mandirola (d. 1661), Italian clergyman, naturalist and botanist with ...

'' *''Gloxinia purpurascens'' = '' Seemannia purpurascens'' *''Gloxinia racemosa'' = '' Gloxiniopsis racemosa'' *''Gloxinia reflexa'' = '' Monopyle reflexa'' *''Gloxinia rupestris'' = ''

Mandirola rupestris ''Mandirola'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae. It is native to Bolivia and Brazil. The genus name of ''Mandirola'' is in honour of Agostino Mandirola (d. 1661), Italian clergyman, naturalist and botanist with ...

'' *''Gloxinia sarmentiana'' = '' Sphaerorrhiza sarmentiana'' *''Gloxinia speciosa'' = ''

'' *''Gloxinia sylvatica'' = '' Seemannia sylvatica''

References and external links

*Roalson, E.H., J.K. Boggan, L.E., Skog, & E.A. Zimmer. 2005. Untangling the Gloxinieae (Gesneriaceae). I. Phylogenetic patterns and generic boundaries inferred from nuclear, chloroplast, and morphological cladistic data sets. ''Taxon'' 54 (2): 389–410. *Roalson, E.H., J.K. Boggan & L.E. Skog. 2005. Reorganization of tribal and generic boundaries in the Gloxinieae (Gesneriaceae: Gesnerioideae) and the description of a new tribe in the Gesnerioideae, Sphaerorrhizeae. ''Selbyana'' 25 (2): 225–238. *Wiehler, H. 1976. A report on the classification of ''Achimenes'', ''Eucodonia'', ''Gloxinia'', and ''Anetanthus'' (Gesneriaceae). ''Selbyana'' 1 (4): 374–404. Specific

External links

''Anodiscus''
an

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from th
Gesneriad Reference Web
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5239844 Gesnerioideae Gesneriaceae genera Flora of Southern America Taxa described in 1789 Taxa named by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle