Cyrtandra (plant)

Cyrtandra
Cyrtandra cyaneoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Gesneriaceae
Subfamily:	Didymocarpoideae
Genus:	Cyrtandra J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (1776)
Species
600+, see list
Synonyms[1]
Cinga Noronha (1790), nom. nud. Cyrtandroidea F.Br. (1935) Cyrtandropsis Lauterb. (1910) Getonia Banks & Sol. ex Benn. (1840), nom. illeg. Kyrtandra J.F.Gmel. (1791), orth. var. Macuerus Rumph. ex Bosc (1803) Protocyrtandra Hosok. (1934) Rhynchocarpus Reinw. ex Blume (1823), not validly publ. Whitia Blume (1823)

Cyrtandra (Neo-Latin, from Greek κυρτός, kyrtós, "curved", and ἀνήρ, anḗr, "male", in reference to their prominently curved stamens)^[2] is a genus of flowering plants containing about 600 species,^[3] with more being discovered often,^[4] and is thus the largest genus in the family Gesneriaceae.^[5] These plants are native to Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, with the centre of diversity in Southeast Asia and the Malesian region.^[5] The genus is common, but many species within it are very rare, localized, and endangered endemic plants.^[4] The species can be difficult to identify because they are highly polymorphic and because they readily hybridize with each other.^[3] The plants may be small herbs, vines, shrubs, epiphytes, or trees. The genus is characterized in part by having two stamens, and most species have white flowers, with a few red-, orange-, yellow-, and pink-flowered species known. Almost all species live in rainforest habitats.^[4]

It is an example of a supertramp genus.^[4]

Hawaiian Cyrtandra are known as ha‘iwale.^[3]

Cyrtandra platyphylla

Species

Main article: List of Cyrtandra species

Selected species include:

• Cyrtandra argentii
• Cyrtandra calyptribracteata
• Cyrtandra cleopatrae
• Cyrtandra crenata – Kahana Valley cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra cyaneoides – mapele
• Cyrtandra dentata – mountain cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra elegans
• Cyrtandra giffardii – forest cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra heinrichii – lava cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra laxiflora – Oahu cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra munroi – Lanaihale cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra oenobarba – shaggystem cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra paliku – cliffside cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra paludosa – kanaweo ke'oke'o
• Cyrtandra platyphylla – 'ilihia
• Cyrtandra polyantha – Niu Valley cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra subumbellata – parasol cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra tintinnabula – Laupahoehoe cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra viridiflora – greenleaf cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra waiolani – fuzzyflower cyrtandra
• Cyrtandra wawrae – rockface cyrtandra

References

1. Cyrtandra Forst. & G.Forst. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
2. Weber, Anton; et al. (2007), "Cyrtandra", The Genera of Gesneriaceae (2nd ed.), Vienna.
3. Clermontia and Cyrtandra. DNA Barcoding Endemic Hawaiian Species Project. University of Hawaii, Hilo.
4. Quentin C. B. Cronk; Michael Kiehn; Warren L. Wagner; James F. Smith (2005). "Evolution of Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) in the Pacific Ocean: the origin of a supertramp clade". American Journal of Botany. 92 (6): 1017–1024. doi:10.3732/ajb.92.6.1017. JSTOR 4126079. PMID 21652486.
5. David H. Lorence; Steven Perlman (2007). "A new species of Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) from Hawai'i, Hawaiian Islands". Novon. 17 (3): 357–361. doi:10.3417/1055-3177(2007)17[357:ANSOCG]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 20406191. S2CID 86206807.

Further reading

• H. Atkins; Q. C. B. Cronk (2001). "The genus Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) in Palawan, Philippines". Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 58 (3): 443–458. doi:10.1017/S0960428601000762.