''Kohleria'' is a

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of the

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 ...

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), with ...

. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are rhizomatous and commonly include a period of dormancy in their growth cycle. The genus was revised in 1992 and was then recognized as having 19 species distributed in

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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 southe ...

phylogenetic 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 ...

in 2005 indicated that the epiphytic genus ''Capanea'' is derived from within ''Kohleria'', and the two species of ''Capanea'' were subsequently transferred to ''Kohleria''. The genus ''

Pearcea ''Pearcea'' is a genus of tropical herbaceous plants in the family Gesneriaceae native to western South America. It is classified in tribe Gloxinieae and is closely related to the genus ''Kohleria ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flow ...

'' is closely related. Because of their colorful and exotically patterned flowers, as well as a general interest in the many tropical flowering plants that were being introduced from the Americas, kohlerias were very popular in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in the 19th century. Many species and hybrids were lavishly illustrated in horticultural magazines such as Curtis's Botanical Magazine under the discarded or erroneous names of ''

Achimenes ''Achimenes'' is a genus of about 25 species of tropical and subtropical rhizomatous perennial herbs in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. They have a multitude of common names such as magic flowers, widow's tears, Cupid's bower, or hot wat ...

'', ''

Gesneria ''Gesneria'' is a genus of approximately 50 species in the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. Except for two or three odd South American species, all are native to islands of the Caribbean. The genus is classified in the tribe Gesnerieae alon ...

'', '' Isoloma'', '' Sciadocalyx'', and '' Tydaea''. These species and hybrids almost entirely disappeared in the early 20th century, and

plant breeders Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce cro ...

have only recently begun to work extensively with this genus again. Several species are widespread, variable, weedy, and tend to hybridize in the wild, and numerous names have been described that are synonyms of other species or are hybrid taxa.

Selected species and varieties

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

accepted the following species: *''

Kohleria affinis ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' (Fritsch) Roalson & Boggan (syn. ''Capanea affinis'') *''

Kohleria allenii ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' Standl. & L.O.Williams *''

Kohleria amabilis ''Kohleria amabilis'', the tree gloxinia, is a species of the flowering plant belonging to the family Gesneriaceae. Synonyms * ''Achimenes amabilis'' (Planch. & Linden) Van Houtte * ''Achimenes picta'' Benth. * ''Diastema pictum'' (Benth. ...

'' (Planch. & Linden) Fritsch *''

Kohleria anisophylla ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' (Fritsch) Wiehler *''

Kohleria bella ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' C.V.Morton *''

Kohleria diastemoides ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog * ''Kohleria'' × ''gigantea'' (Planch.) Fritsch *''

Kohleria grandiflora ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog *''

Kohleria hirsuta ''Kohleria hirsuta'', the woolly kohleria, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to northern South America, and introduced to the Dominican Republic. In 1993, as its synonym ''Kohleria eriantha'', it gained the Royal ...

'' (Kunth) Regel *''

Kohleria hondensis ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' (Kunth) Regel *''

Kohleria hypertrichosa ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' J.L.Clark & L.E.Skog *''

Kohleria inaequalis ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' (Benth.) Wiehler *''

Kohleria longicalyx ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog *'' Kohleria neglecta'' L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog *'' Kohleria peruviana'' Fritsch *''

Kohleria rugata ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' (Scheidw.) L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog *'' Kohleria spicata'' (Kunth) Oerst. *'' Kohleria stuebeliana'' Fritsch *'' Kohleria tigridia'' (Ohlend.) Roalson & Boggan (syn. ''Capanea grandiflora'') *'' Kohleria trianae'' (Regel) Hanst. *'' Kohleria tubiflora'' (Cav.) Hanst. *''

Kohleria villosa ''Kohleria'' is a New World genus of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae. The plants are generally tropical herbs or subshrubs with velvety stems and foliage and brightly colored flowers with spots or markings in contrasting colors. They are ...

'' (Fritsch) Wiehler *'' Kohleria warszewiczii'' (Regel) Hanst. – AGM

Cultivation

Their showy flowers and ease of culture have made them popular with growers of indoor

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. Numerous species and hybrids are now in cultivation, some with patterned or variegated foliage as well as vivid flowers. They are easily propagated by both stem cuttings and division of the rhizomes.

References and external links

*Kvist, L.P. & L.E. Skog. 1992. Revision of ''Kohleria'' (Gesneriaceae). ''Smithsonian Contributions to Botany'' 79: 1-83
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Gesneriad Reference Web
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eGradini.ro - Romanian Gardening Website
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2585772 Gesnerioideae Gesneriaceae genera Taxa named by Eduard August von Regel