Sinningia gertiana

1. Pictures of whole plant
2. Comparison to S. schiffneri
3. Feature table
4. Publication and etymology

We're not supposed to call it Sinningia gertiana, since the name has not been published yet.  Supposedly, the honoree doesn't care for "gertiana", so we are likely to wind up with one of those unpleasant -ii names (does anybody think that douglasii is a big improvement over verticillata?).

The official unofficial name is S. sp. "gertiana".  Unfortunately, that particular horse got out of the barn several years ago, when Mauro Peixoto distributed seeds under the S. gertiana name at the 2002 AGGS convention in New Jersey.  Grateful gesneriad growers snapped up the seeds, sowed them, and about a year later started complaining.  "When is this thing ever going to bloom???"

Sinningia gertiana requires patience.  I sowed the seeds in July 2002.  Looked for flowers in 2003: nada.  Looked for flowers in 2004: zip.

Or so I thought.

In October, Susan Grose, then president of the AGGS, and her husband stopped by for a visit.  I showed her my plants, and happened to complain about this big weedy plant over here which never bloomed.

"Really?" she said. "What's this?"

So she saw my first S. gertiana flower before I did.

In 2004, that large plant in a 12-inch [30-cm] pot had four flowers.  In 2005, however, it has had a couple dozen flowers.  Moreover, three smaller plants in smaller pots have also bloomed.  So the determining factor appears to be age, not size.

Pictures of the whole plant

This is a section of the plant (photo taken 17 October 2006), showing one of the most floriferous sections.

This photograph, taken the same day, shows most of the plant, which is about 40 inches [100 cm] across.

Comparison to S. schiffneri

Here is a comparison between S. gertiana and its close relative, Sinningia schiffneri.

Feature table for Sinningia sp. "gertiana"