Episcia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Gesneriaceae
Subfamilia: Gesnerioideae
Tribus: Gesnerieae
Subtribus: Columneinae
Genus: Episcia
Species: E. andina – E. cupreata – E. duidae – E. fimbriata – E. lilacina – E. prancei – E. reptans – E. rubra – E. sphalera

Name

Episcia Mart., Nova Gen. Sp. 3: 39. (1829)

Type species: Episcia reptans Mart., Nova Gen. Sp. 3: 41. (1829)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Cyrtodeira Hanst.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Mexico & Southern America
Benin, Brazil North, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico Southeast, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
Introduced into:
Bangladesh, Chagos Archipelago, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Leeward Is., Mexico Southwest, Puerto Rico, Society Is., Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuelan Antilles, Vietnam

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Martius, C.F.P. de 1829–1832. Nova genera et species plantarum quas in itinere per Brasiliam annis MDCCCXVII–MDCCCXX jussu et auspiciis Maximiliani Josephi I. Bavariae regis augustissimi suscepto collegit et descripsit Dr. C. F. P. de Martius ..., vol. 3. Pp. 1–198, tt. 201–300. Typis C. Wolf, Monachii [Munich]. BHL plates Reference page. : 3: 39.

Additional references

Clark J.L., Skog L.E., Boggan J.K. & Ginzbarg, S. 2020. Index to names of New World members of the Gesneriaceae (subfamilies Sanangoideae and Gesnerioideae). Rheedea: Official Journal of Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy 30(1): 190-256. DOI: 10.22244/rheedea.2020.30.01.14 PDF Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Episcia in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 July 24. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2020. Episcia. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 July 24. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Episcia. Published online. Accessed: July 24 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Episcia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 July 24.

Vernacular names
беларуская: Еписция
čeština: Episcie
suomi: Kuparilehdet
lietuvių: Ritlenis
русский: Эписция
svenska: Kopparbladssläktet
українська: Епісція
中文: 喜荫花属

Episcia is a genus of flowering plants in the African violet family, Gesneriaceae. The ten species it contains are native to the tropical regions of Central and South America. The species are perennial herbaceous plants characterized by a stoloniferous habit, red (rarely orange, pink, blue or yellow) flowers, and frequently have marked or patterned leaves. Episcias are sometimes called flame violets.

Taxonomy
Episcia cupreata
Episcia lilacina

The genus name is derived from the Greek επισκισς (episkios), meaning "shaded". This refers to the understory habitat of these plants.[1]

For much of the twentieth century Episcia had a broad circumscription but since 1978 has been restricted to a much narrower one, with the genera Paradrymonia, Chrysothemis, Nautilocalyx, and Alsobia separated from it. The segregation of these genera from Episcia has been supported in recent molecular phylogenies.
Species

Section Episcia

Episcia andina Wiehler
Episcia cupreata (Hook.) Hanst.
Episcia duidae Feuillet
Episcia lilacina Hanst.
Episcia prancei Wiehler
Episcia reptans Mart.
Episcia xantha Leeuwenb.

Section Trematanthera (Leeuwenb.) Feuillet

Episcia fimbriata Fritsch
Episcia sphalera Leeuwenb.
Episcia rubra Feuillet

Cultivation

They are frequently cultivated elsewhere and sometimes naturalize in tropical regions. They are grown in the tropics, and in temperate regions as houseplants, primarily for their attractive foliage. Numerous cultivars have been produced, primarily by selection and hybridization of the species E. cupreata and E. reptans.
References

Quattrocchi, Umberto (1999). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. Volume 2: D-L. CRC Press. p. 919. ISBN 0849326761.

Feuillet, C. 2008. Folia taxonomica 7. Two new species and a new section in Episcia (Gesneriaceae) from the Venezuelan Guayana. J. Bot. Res. Int. Texas 2(1): 275-280.
Wiehler, H. 1978. The genera Episcia, Alsobia, Nautilocalyx, and Paradrymonia (Gesneriaceae). Selbyana 5: 11-60.