GESNERIACEAE
Morphological description
Usually herbaceous, forest plants. Plants often woody (Cyrtandra).
Leaves
Leaves simple, decussate, penninerved, exstipulate. Sometimes only one well-developed leaf (accrescent cotyledon) (Monophyllaea).
Flowers
Flower hermaphrodite; ovary superior (in Malesia), stamens 2 or 4.Usually bisexual, zygomorphic, bilabiate; sometimes ovary 2-locular (Monophyllaea).
Fruit
Fruit a 1-locular capsule. Fruit a berry (Cyrtandra).
Seed
Seeds numerous.
Different from: Acanthaceae: cystoliths, ovary 2-locular; few seeds. - Bignoniaceae: mostly trees or lianas, seeds nearly always winged. - Scrophulariaceae: ovary usually 2-locular, rarely forest plants.
Distribution: The family worldwide, mostly tropics but some genera extending to temperate regions. In Malesia 25 genera, mostly members of the lowland and montane forest undergrowth, epiphytic or terrestrial,including : - Aeschynanthus (Indo-Malesia), epiphytes; - Agalmyla (Malesia), climbers; - Boea (China to Australia), terrestrial herbs, often on limestone; - Cyrtandra (Malesia, Pacific), treelets, shrubs, herbs and climbers.
Notes: Many species cultivated as ornamentals, e.g. Aeschynanthus, Saintpaulia*, Sinningia*, Streptocarpus*. Several indigenous species are potential ornamentals.
Literature: C.A. Backer & R.C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, Fl. Java 2 (1965) 518-534; G.W. Gillett, Kew Bull. 30 (1975) 371- 412. B.L. Burtt, Keys to the Bornean genera of Gesneriaceae, in A.C. Jermy (ed.), Studies on the Flora of Gunung Mulu , Kuching (1984) 97-104. Several papers by B.L. Burtt et al. in Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinb.; several papers by B.L. Burtt and Weber in Beitr. Biol. Pflanzen 70 (1998).
Spot characters (Van Balgooy): Gesneriaceae 44, 58, 81 - Aeschynanthus 5, 6, 46, 47, 60, 102, 103 - Agalmyla 5, 6, 47, 76, 104 - Chirita 62, 74 - Cyrtandra 5, 6, 47, 51, 52, 70, 75 -Didymocarpus 31, 60 - Henckelia 44, 47, 52, 62, 74 - Loxonia 47 - Monophyllaea 27, 31, 53, 70, 74 - Paraboea 3, 25, 27, 28 - Rhynchoglossum 44, 47 - Rhynchotechum 44, 82 - Ridleyandra 52, 74 - Trisepalum 28.
Illustrations: Fig. 82. Aeschynanthus perakensis Ridl. (Gesneriaceae). Reproduced from M. R. Henderson, Malayan wild flowers, Dicotyledons (1949/51, repr. 1974) 341. With kind permission of the Malaysian Nature Society. Fig. 83. Cyrtandra fulvo-villosa Rech. (Gesneriaceae). Habit; inflorescence enlarged. Reproduced from Kew Bull. 30 (1975) 381, fig. 2A, B (drawing by Pat Halliday). Courtesy of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Fig. 84. Didymocarpus crinita Jack (Gesneriaceae). Reproduced from Hsuan Keng, Orders and Families of Malayan Seed plants (1978) fig. 161. With kind permission of Prof. and Mrs. Keng.
Image in PhytoImages for Gesneriaceae