Gesneria

Taxobox
name = "Gesneria"

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image_caption = "Gesneria venticosa"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Lamiales
familia = Gesneriaceae
genus = "Gesneria" L.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.

"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 along with the genera "Bellonia", "Pheidonocarpa", and "Rhytidophyllum". "Gesneria" species are usually woody shrubs or subshrubs, and (with the closely related "Rhytidophyllum") are unusual in the family in having alternately (rather than decussately) arranged leaves. A complete list of the accepted species and their synonyms can be found in the Smithsonian Institution's World Checklist of Gesneriaceae.

The genus name honors Conrad Gessner.

;Selected species
*"Gesneria acaulis"
*"Gesneria christii"
*"Gesneria citrina"
*"Gesneria cuneifolia"
*"Gesneria humilis"
*"Gesneria pedicellaris"
*"Gesneria pedunculosa"
*"Gesneria reticulata"
*"Gesneria ventricosa"

External links

* [http://www.sil.si.edu/smithsoniancontributions/Botany/pdf/scb-0029h.pdf Skog, L.E. 1976. A Study of the Tribe Gesnerieae, with a Revision of Gesneria (Gesneriaceae: Gesnerioideae). "Smithsonian Contr. Bot". 29: 1-182 (pdf file).]

* [http://www.genera-gesneriaceae.at/genera/gesneria_sstr.htm "Gesneria"] from [http://www.genera-gesneriaceae.at The Genera of Gesneriaceae]
* [http://gesneriads.ca/gengesne.htm "Gesneria"] from [http://www.gesneriads.ca The Gesneriad Reference Web]
* [http://persoon.si.edu/gesneriaceae/checklist World Checklist of Gesneriaceae]