Gloxinia perennis is the original (type) species of the genus, and for much of its history the genus consisted of only G. perennis and a very small number of other species. The classification of Gloxinia later changed reflect the 1976 classification of Hans Wiehler, who took a broader view of the genus.[3] A recent analysis of Gloxinia and related genera based on molecular and morphological work has determined that Wiehler's circumscription of the genus was unnatural, both phylogenetically and morphologically.[4] The analyses demonstrated that the genera Anodiscus and Koellikeria, each with a single species, were more closely related to Gloxinia perennis than were any of the other species included in Gloxinia by Wiehler, several of which proved to be more closely related to other genera (particularly Diastema, Monopyle, and Phinaea). As a result of this work, most former Gloxinia species have been transferred to other genera while Koellikeria erinoides and Anodiscus xanthophyllus have been transferred into a much more narrowly defined Gloxinia consisting of only three species, all of them characterized by having a raceme-like flowering stem.
Gloxinia perennis forms fertile hybrids with species of Seemannia, which was the primary reason for uniting the two genera in the past.
Sinningia speciosa, a popular houseplant, was originally described and introduced into cultivation as Gloxinia speciosa and is still sometimes referred to as "gloxinia" or "florist's gloxinia", although this name is now inaccurate and technically incorrect.[5] Similarly, "hardy gloxinia" is Incarvillea delavayi, a member of the Bignoniaceae.[6]
The plant is a small herb with tiny white and maroon flowers. This diminutive plant is notable for having tiny but distinctly coconut-scented flowers and is occasionally cultivated as a houseplant.
The plant is a herb with large nodding, purple, mint-scented flowers. It is sometimes known as "Canterbury bells" (not to be confused with members of the genus Campanula, which go by the same name). It is cultivated in tropical regions and its original range is unknown.
Roalson, E.H., J.K. Boggan, L.E., Skog, & E.A. Zimmer. 2005. Untangling the Gloxinieae (Gesneriaceae). I. Phylogenetic patterns and generic boundaries inferred from nuclear, chloroplast, and morphological cladistic data sets. Taxon 54 (2): 389–410.
Roalson, E.H., J.K. Boggan & L.E. Skog. 2005. Reorganization of tribal and generic boundaries in the Gloxinieae (Gesneriaceae: Gesnerioideae) and the description of a new tribe in the Gesnerioideae, Sphaerorrhizeae. Selbyana 25 (2): 225–238.
Wiehler, H. 1976. A report on the classification of Achimenes, Eucodonia, Gloxinia, and Anetanthus (Gesneriaceae). Selbyana 1 (4): 374–404.
