''Gloxinia'' 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 ...

containing three species of

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

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 h ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

s 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 ...

. The species are primarily found in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

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 souther ...

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

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Great ...

, 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 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 and a Bachelor of Divinity de ...

, 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 (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

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 (plural diastemata, from Greek διάστημα, 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 ...

'', '' Monopyle'', and '' Phinaea''). 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 ) or racemoid is an unbranched, 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 produced as the sh ...

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

'', the resurrected genera '' Mandirola'' 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 Andes, Andean regions of South America. The name honors the German botanist Berthold Carl Seemann. Taxono ...

'', and the new genera '' Gloxinella'', '' Gloxiniopsis'', ''

Nomopyle ''Nomopyle'' 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 the O ...

'', and '' Sphaerorrhiza''. ''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 tuberous member of the flowering plant native to Brazil within the family Gesneriaceae. Originally included in the genus '' Gloxinia'' in 1817, it was reclassi ...

'', 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'', a member of the

Bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpetvines.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Books: ...

Species

;Selected excluded species Mandirola multiflora

*''Gloxinia burchellii'' = '' Sphaerorrhiza burchellii'' *''Gloxinia dodsonii'' = ''

Nomopyle dodsonii ''Nomopyle'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae. Its native range is Western South America. Species Species: *''Nomopyle dodsonii'' *''Nomopyle peruviana ''Nomopyle'' is a genus of flowering plants belongin ...

'' *''Gloxinia gymnostoma'' = ''

Seemannia gymnostoma ''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. Taxonom ...

'' *''Gloxinia hirsuta'' = '' Sinningia hirsuta'' *''Gloxinia ichthyostoma'' = '' Mandirola ichthyostoma'' *''Gloxinia lindeniana'' = '' Gloxinella lindeniana'' *''Gloxinia nematanthodes'' = ''

Seemannia nematanthodes ''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. Taxonom ...

'' *''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 wit ...

'' *''Gloxinia purpurascens'' = ''

Seemannia purpurascens ''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. Taxonom ...

'' *''Gloxinia racemosa'' = ''

Gloxiniopsis racemosa ''Gloxiniopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Gesneriaceae. Its native range is Colombia. Species: * ''Gloxiniopsis racemosa'' (Benth.) Roalson & Boggan References {{Taxonbar, from=Q8964349 Gesnerioideae Gesne ...

'' *''Gloxinia reflexa'' = ''

Monopyle reflexa ''Monopyle'' 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 (almost all ...

'' *''Gloxinia rupestris'' = '' Mandirola rupestris'' *''Gloxinia sarmentiana'' = '' Sphaerorrhiza sarmentiana'' *''Gloxinia speciosa'' = ''

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

Seemannia sylvatica ''Seemannia'' is a New World genus in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. There are four species in the genus, primarily found in the Andes, Andean regions of South America. The name honors the German botanist Berthold Carl Seemann. Taxono ...

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''
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from th
Gesneriad Reference Web
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5239844 Gesnerioideae Gesneriaceae genera