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Columnea
Columnea is a genus of around 200 species of epiphytic herbs and shrubs in the family Gesneriaceae, native to the tropics of the Americas and the Caribbean. The tubular or oddly shaped flowers are usually large and brightly colored – usually red, yellow, or orange – sometimes resembling a fish in shape. A common name is flying goldfish plants (see also the related Nematanthus) due to the unusual flower shape.
The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after the Latinized spelling of the name of the 16th-century Italian botanist Fabio Colonna (Latin: Fabius Columnus).
Columnea species grow as epiphytic plants in the wild and require bright light, good air circulation, and a well-drained growing medium that is allowed to dry out slightly between waterings. They are very tolerant of underpotting and seem to bloom best when potbound. Most are tropical plants and are easy to grow under indoor or greenhouse conditions but some species come from high altitudes and require cooler temperatures to grow well or bloom. Many of the species are seasonal bloomers, but hybrids and cultivars can be more or less continuously blooming.
The hybrid Columnea × banksii has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Tibey de cresta · Blood Of Christ · Columnea crassifolia · Hispaniolan Goldfish Plant · Columnea flexiflora · Columnea florida · Columnea glabra · Goldfish Plant Or Orange Columnea · Columnea hirta · Columnea linearis · Goldfish Plant Or Orange Columnea · Columnea microphylla
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Columnea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
