''Episcia'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the

African violet ''Streptocarpus'' sect. ''Saintpaulia'' is a section within ''Streptocarpus'' subgenus ''Streptocarpella'' consisting of about ten species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent sout ...

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), wi ...

. The ten species it contains are native to the tropical regions of Central and

South America 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 sout ...

. The species are perennial

herbaceous plants Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

characterized by a stoloniferous habit, red (rarely orange, pink, blue or yellow) flowers, and frequently have marked or patterned leaves. Episcias are sometimes called flame violets.

Taxonomy

The genus name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

επισκισς (''episkios''), meaning "shaded". This refers to the understory habitat of these plants. For much of the twentieth century ''Episcia'' had a broad circumscription but since 1978 has been restricted to a much narrower one, with the genera '' Paradrymonia'', '' Chrysothemis'', ''

Nautilocalyx ''Nautilocalyx'' is a genus 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 (almos ...

'', and ''

Alsobia ''Alsobia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. It contains four species. The species in the genus are succulent and stoloniferous herb In general use, herbs are a widely di ...

'' separated from it. The

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

of these genera from ''Episcia'' has been supported in recent

molecular phylogenies Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

Species

Section ''Episcia'' * '' Episcia andina'' Wiehler * '' Episcia cupreata'' (Hook.) Hanst. * '' Episcia duidae'' Feuillet * '' Episcia lilacina'' Hanst. * '' Episcia prancei'' Wiehler * ''

Episcia reptans ''Episcia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the African violet family, Gesneriaceae. The ten species it contains are native to the tropical regions of Central and South America. The species are perennial herbaceous plants characterized by a s ...

'' Mart. * '' Episcia xantha'' Leeuwenb. Section ''Trematanthera'' (Leeuwenb.) Feuillet * '' Episcia fimbriata'' Fritsch * '' Episcia sphalera'' Leeuwenb. * '' Episcia rubra'' Feuillet

Cultivation

They are frequently cultivated elsewhere and sometimes naturalize in tropical regions. They are grown in the tropics, and in temperate regions as

houseplant 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 ...

s, primarily for their attractive foliage. Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been produced, primarily by selection and hybridization of the species '' E. cupreata'' and '' E. reptans''.

References

* Feuillet, C. 2008. Folia taxonomica 7. Two new species and a new section in ''Episcia'' (Gesneriaceae) from the Venezuelan Guayana. ''J. Bot. Res. Int. Texas'' 2(1): 275-280. * Wiehler, H. 1978. The genera ''Episcia'', ''Alsobia'', ''Nautilocalyx'', and ''Paradrymonia'' (Gesneriaceae). ''Selbyana'' 5: 11-60.

External links

''Episcia''
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The Genera of Gesneriaceae (Follow links)

from th
Gesneriad Reference Web
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2573318 Gesneriaceae genera