GESNERIACEAE

one of 18 families in the flowering plant order Scrophulariales, consisting of about 140 genera and more than 1,800 species of mostly tropical and subtropical herbaceous or slightly woody plants. None is of economic importance except in the area of horticultural ornamentals. Among these are the African violets (Saintpaulia) and gloxinias (Sinningia speciosa). The family is characterized by bilaterally symmetrical, bisexual flowers, each of which has a two-lipped corolla of five fused petals; five-lobed calyx (sepals); two or four, rarely five, anthers; and a superior or partly inferior ovary (i.e., positioned above the attachment point of the other flower parts, or slightly below them) with a single chamber in which numerous small seeds are produced.