Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Metachlamydeae: Lamiales

Gesneriaceae - African violet family

Hilliard, O.M. & Burtt, B.L. (1988) Gesneriaceae Flora Zambesiaca 8(3)

Description of the family

Herbs, often glandular-hairy. Leaves either 1 or several. Inflorescence of open axillary cymes. Calyx divided to the base into 5 segments. Corolla zygomorphic, gamopetalous, 5-lobed, ± 2-lipped. Stamens: anterior 2 fertile, lateral staminodes usually present, the posterior often 0. Ovary superior, usually 1-locular. Ovules numerous. Fruit a ± cylindric capsule. Seeds numerous, small.

Worldwide: 141 genera and 2,900 species, tropical.

Zimbabwe: 1 genus and 12 taxa.

Links to genera: View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

Genus	Content
Streptocarpus Lindl.	Description, Image

Other sources of information about Gesneriaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Burundi: Gesneriaceae
Flora of the DRC: Gesneriaceae
Flora of Malawi: Gesneriaceae
Flora of Mozambique: Gesneriaceae
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Gesneriaceae
Flora of Rwanda: Gesneriaceae
Flora of Zambia: Gesneriaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Gesneriaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Gesneriaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Gesneriaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Gesneriaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Gesneriaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Gesneriaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Gesneriaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Gesneriaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Gesneriaceae
Wikipedia: Gesneriaceae
Plants of the World Online: Gesneriaceae
Tropicos: Gesneriaceae