# most favorite Gesneriad



## Wim van den Berg (Mar 5, 2012)

As many on this forum i love the gesneriad family .
somehow I always preferred Neotropical speciesbut then see photo,s of other Asian or African beauties of this family .i am looking forward to your opinions and showy foto,s of what you have (or like to have.....)
My most beautiful i cannot mention but Pearcea hypocyrtiflora sure belongs to one of my favorites


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Nice! Mine's either Monopyle sp. or Nautilocalyx ecuadorensis.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

I have way too many favorites. Could never narrow it down. I love Neomortanea rosea, Columnea arguta among others.


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

Anything in the genus Gasteranthus. I'm hooked on them right now. Always loved the look of the large species of Columnea like C. eburnea and C. spathulata.


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

The texture of Nautilocalyx pemphidus is really nice, so I'd say that's pretty high on my list of favorites, but Josh's N. ecuadorensis is really nice as well. I hadn't seen it prior to this thread.


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## Elphaba (Aug 26, 2007)

I'm with Antone on this one -- I have way too many favorites to pick one out among many. I'm partial to epiphytic gesneriads, though, particularly those with smaller leaves and vining habits. =)

Josh, that nautilocalyx is beautiful! Does it do well in a terrarium setting? If so, any chance of us ever seeing it on eBay? 

Best,
Ash


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## Kadjec (Nov 3, 2012)

I also have many favorites, but if I had to narrow them down. I would say that two of my favorites are Sinningia concinna and Columnea arguta.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

5 results for
nautilocalyx
Save search
Nautilocalyx cf. ecuadoranus ~ very rare gesneriad, perfect for terrariums!

Nautilocalyx cf. ecuadoranus ~ very rare gesneriad, perfect for terrariums!
Time left: 2h leftToday 9:45PM 
$5.75
3 bids
On Ebay right now...


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## Elphaba (Aug 26, 2007)

Judy S said:


> 5 results for
> nautilocalyx
> Save search
> Nautilocalyx cf. ecuadoranus ~ very rare gesneriad, perfect for terrariums!
> ...


Color me surprised! Looking at this plant again, I already have it -- I bought it from Josh a few weeks ago! The leaves of mine (and the leaves of the one on eBay) aren't as dark as the leaves of the plant depicted in this thread. Does that happen as the plant matures more? If so, wow, talk about something to look forward to... =)

Best,
Ash


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Wim, I'm with you. Pearcea hypocyrtiflora is definitely my favorite, though Sinningia leucotricha is a very close second.


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Elphaba said:


> Color me surprised! Looking at this plant again, I already have it -- I bought it from Josh a few weeks ago! The leaves of mine (and the leaves of the one on eBay) aren't as dark as the leaves of the plant depicted in this thread. Does that happen as the plant matures more? If so, wow, talk about something to look forward to... =)
> 
> Best,
> Ash


That one was N. ecuadoranus, this is N. ecuadorensis! Lots of great things coming out of that region. The latter hasn't ever been listed before and gets kinda large, around 18-24" tall.


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## Wim van den Berg (Mar 5, 2012)

were i live there,s no Gesneriad society or whatever, just a few people who cares about this interresting family. hardy gesneriads do also have my interest ,but they are more difficult to keep and get into flower. I do have grown a hangingbasket with sarmienta repens ,wich i grow outside in summer,and keep it almost near freezing in winter,but it never flowered yet.... 
Also Asteranthera ovata wich i kept in my garden is a very difficult one for me.

One of my most easyest and showy plants are the Columnea,s wich can be grown with little attention in the livingroom.


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## Wim van den Berg (Mar 5, 2012)

Still one of my favorite and unknown Columnea from Panama


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

One of my many favorites 
Just like Nautilocalyx pemphidius, this ground hugging rosette with the bumpy leaves really is special. The added hairs and white flowers are just cream!
Unidentified Nautilocalyx from Peru


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

This pic shows the hairiness better.


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## phender (Jan 9, 2009)

At first I thought those were some weird alien hand gardening tool holding up the leaf, before I realized it was just the base of the flower.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Probably one of my top 5 for sure...

Columnea purpureovittata


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

phender said:


> At first I thought those were some weird alien hand gardening tool holding up the leaf, before I realized it was just the base of the flower.


Your first thought was correct!


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## dendrothusiast (Sep 16, 2010)

Manuran said:


> This pic shows the hairiness better.


Chuck do you mind me asking how you grow yours? I had a couple of leaf made plantlets and they hung on for quite some time on some moist sphagnum but both finally gave away when the warm weather came in.


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

Hi Arman,
I don't do anything special for this one. Most of my plants are on sphagnum, but I do have some on a basic potting soil too. They can be painfully slow or remarkably fast growing. I don't know what makes the difference. In that regard, it reminds me of Nautilocalyx pemphidius. I keep it in fairly high humidity most of the time in the 80%+ range.
It accepts a range of lighting. In very bright lights the leaves turn slightly red and the plant stays smaller and more compact. Mine don't seem too bothered by temperatures in the high eighties, but beyond that I don't know what happens. Hope that helps in your next attempt.


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

Wim van den Berg said:


> My most beautiful i cannot mention but Pearcea hypocyrtiflora sure belongs to one of my favorites


Like the OP, I really like this Pearcea too. I found an old pic that shows the leaf qualities quite nicely. I used to have a "colony" of this species in a tank many years ago. And once a year it would produce the round, hairy, and brightly colored flowers that Wim shared a nice photo of. The wonderful thing is that they would all stand at attention and point in the same direction. I wish I had a photo. I guess that's a new project...


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## Wim van den Berg (Mar 5, 2012)

Manuran said:


> One of my many favorites
> Just like Nautilocalyx pemphidius, this ground hugging rosette with the bumpy leaves really is special. The added hairs and white flowers are just cream!
> Unidentified Nautilocalyx from Peru


can you tell me how big ( or small ) this plant is? and do you ferrtilize it some time?I dont have experience with plants growing in (dead) sphagnum 
Thanks, Wim


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## Wim van den Berg (Mar 5, 2012)

Frogtofall said:


> Probably one of my top 5 for sure...
> 
> Columnea purpureovittata


They sure have a nice leaf , flowers and even red berry,s
on top of your list you mentioned neomortonia rosea do you have a picture of it?

The Pearcea just flowered for the first time some weeks ago(only 2 flowers)and the white Episcia from peru makes a berry now


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

Wim van den Berg said:


> can you tell me how big ( or small ) this plant is? and do you ferrtilize it some time?I dont have experience with plants growing in (dead) sphagnum
> Thanks, Wim


Hi Wim,
I only have 1 clone of this plant and it varies in size depending on light. Medium lighting seems to produce the largest diameter plants. The photo shows it at it's largest at around 9" in diameter. I've also had plants in high light that have never gotten larger than 4" and have also flowered. For grow out containers, I dislike live sphagnum and if the sphagnum I'm using greens up, I throw it out and replant the container. In these containers I will fertilize using a dilute orchid fertilizer. If the plants are in a terrarium with frogs, then I just let their poop do the job.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Wim van den Berg said:


> They sure have a nice leaf , flowers and even red berry,s
> on top of your list *you mentioned neomortonia rosea do you have a picture of it?*
> 
> The Pearcea just flowered for the first time some weeks ago(only 2 flowers)and the white Episcia from peru makes a berry now


'These are old photos but its all I have at the moment. Hopefully I can obtain this awesome plant again soon.


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## chuckpowell (May 12, 2004)

My favorites are Petrocosmia - see A Passion for Petrocosmea. Their easy to grow, at least in my conditions. 

Best,

Chuck


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

chuckpowell said:


> My favorites are Petrocosmia - see A Passion for Petrocosmea. Their easy to grow, at least in my conditions.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Chuck


Those are super neat!


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## jckee1 (Mar 22, 2011)

Well, this was mentioned a couple times but since no one has put it up yet and it is my favorite, Nautilocalyx pemphidius.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

another Nautilocalyx pemphidius!


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## jckee1 (Mar 22, 2011)

Really nice Emily. I love their leaves. It is definitely a cool one. I'm surprised how big they get. I had to remove this one from a tank as it was covering everything around it!
I should point out it is covering my hand.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2


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## aspidites73 (Oct 2, 2012)

Nautilocalyx antioquensis











Nematanthus fissus










Episcia lilacina


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## Bunsincunsin (Feb 11, 2008)

How big does _Pearcea hypocyrtiflora_ get and is it possible to keep it in a more compact form?


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## Wim van den Berg (Mar 5, 2012)

I think it depends on the condition in your vivarium.
At this moment i keep one under bright light,and noticed the leafs are smaller and more colourfull


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