Columnea

Columnea is a genus of around 200 species of epiphytic herbs and shrubs in the family Gesneriaceae, native to the tropics of the Americas and the Caribbean. The tubular or oddly shaped flowers are usually large and brightly colored – usually red, yellow, or orange – sometimes resembling a fish in shape. A common name is flying goldfish plants (see also the related Nematanthus) due to the unusual flower shape.

The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after the Latinized spelling of the name of the 16th-century Italian botanist Fabio Colonna (Latin: Fabius Columnus).

The segregate genus Bucinellina is considered by many botanists a synonym of Columnea. A full list of the species now accepted in the genus, along with their synonyms, can be found at the World Checklist of Gesneriaceae.

Cultivation
Columnea species grow as epiphytic plants in the wild and require bright light, good air circulation, and a well-drained growing medium that is allowed to dry out slightly between waterings. They are very tolerant of underpotting and seem to bloom best when potbound. Most are tropical plants and are easy to grow under indoor or greenhouse conditions but some species come from high altitudes and require cooler temperatures to grow well or bloom. Many of the species are seasonal bloomers, but hybrids and cultivars can be more or less continuously blooming.

The hybrid Columnea × banksii has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Species
The species classified under Columnea include the following:


 * Columnea albiflora L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea aliena (C.V. Morton) C.V. Morton
 * Columnea allenii C.V. Morton
 * Columnea ambigua (Urb.) B.D. Morley
 * Columnea ampliata (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea angustata (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea anisophylla DC.
 * Columnea antiocana (Wiehler) J.F. Sm.
 * Columnea argentea Griseb.
 * Columnea arguta C.V. Morton
 * Columnea asteroloma (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea atahualpae J.F. Sm. & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea aurantia Wiehler
 * Columnea aurea Warsz., nom. nud.
 * Columnea bilabiata Seem.
 * Columnea billbergiana Beurl.
 * Columnea bivalvis J.L. Clark & M. Amaya
 * Columnea brenneri (Wiehler) B.D. Morley
 * Columnea brevipila Urb.
 * Columnea byrsina (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea calotricha Donn. Sm.
 * Columnea capillosa L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea cerropirrana (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea chiricana Wiehler
 * Columnea chrysotricha L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea ciliata (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea citriflora L.E. Skog
 * Columnea cobana Donn. Sm.
 * Columnea colombiana (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea consanguinea Hanst.
 * Columnea coronata M. Amaya, L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea coronocrypta M. Amaya, L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea crassa C.V. Morton
 * Columnea crassicaulis (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea crassifolia Brongn. ex Lem.
 * Columnea cruenta B.D. Morley
 * Columnea cuspidata L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea dictyophylla Donn. Sm.
 * Columnea dielsii Mansf.
 * Columnea dimidiata (Benth.) Kuntze
 * Columnea dissimilis C.V. Morton
 * Columnea domingensis (Urb.) B.D. Morley
 * Columnea dressleri Wiehler
 * Columnea eburnea (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea elongatifolia L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea ericae Mansf.
 * Columnea erythrophaea Decne. ex Houll.
 * Columnea erythrophylla Hanst.
 * Columnea eubracteata Mansf.
 * Columnea fawcettii (Urb.) C.V. Morton
 * Columnea fernandezii M. Amaya
 * Columnea filamentosa L.E. Skog
 * Columnea filifera (Wiehler) L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea filipes Oliver
 * Columnea fimbricalyx L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea flaccida Seem.
 * Columnea flava Martens & Galeotti
 * Columnea flexiflora L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea florida C.V. Morton
 * Columnea formosa (C.V. Morton) C.V. Morton
 * Columnea fritschii (Rusby) J.F. Sm.
 * Columnea fuscihirta L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea gallicauda Wiehler
 * Columnea gigantifolia L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea glabra Oerst.
 * Columnea glicensteinii Wiehler
 * Columnea gloriosa Sprague
 * Columnea grandifolia Rusby
 * Columnea grisebachiana Kuntze
 * Columnea guatemalensis Sprague
 * Columnea guianensis C.V. Morton
 * Columnea guttata Poepp. in Poepp. & Endl.
 * Columnea harrisii (Urb.) Britton ex C.V. Morton
 * Columnea herthae Mansf.
 * Columnea hiantiflora Wiehler
 * Columnea hirsuta Swartz, non Auct.
 * Columnea hirsutissima C.V. Morton
 * Columnea hirta Klotzsch & Hanst.
 * Columnea hispida Swartz
 * Columnea hypocyrtantha (Wiehler) J.F. Sm. & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea illepida H.E. Moore
 * Columnea inaequilatera Poepp. in Poepp. & Endl.
 * Columnea incarnata C.V. Morton
 * Columnea incredibilis L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea isernii Cuatrec.
 * Columnea kalbreyeriana Masters
 * Columnea katzensteiniae (Wiehler) L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea kienastiana Regel
 * Columnea kucyniakii Raymond
 * Columnea labellosa H. Karst.
 * Columnea laevis L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea lanata (Seem.) Kuntze
 * Columnea lariensis Kriebel
 * Columnea lehmannii Mansf.
 * Columnea lepidocaula Hanst.
 * Columnea linearis Oerst.
 * Columnea longinervosa L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea lophophora Mansf.
 * Columnea lucifer J.L. Clark
 * Columnea maculata C.V. Morton
 * Columnea magnifica Klotzsch ex Oerst.
 * Columnea manabiana (Wiehler) J.F. Sm. & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea mastersonii (Wiehler) L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea matudae (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea medicinalis (Wiehler) L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea mentiens B.D. Morley
 * Columnea microcalyx Hanst.
 * Columnea microphylla Klotzsch & Hanst. ex Oerst.
 * Columnea minor (Hook.) Hanst.
 * Columnea minutiflora L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea mira B.D. Morley
 * Columnea moesta Poepp. in Poepp. & Endl.
 * Columnea moorei C.V. Morton
 * Columnea nariniana (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea nematoloba L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea nervosa (Klotzsch ex Oerst.) Hanst.
 * Columnea nicaraguensis Oerst.
 * Columnea oblongifolia Rusby
 * Columnea ochroleuca (Klotzsch ex Oerst.) Hanst.
 * Columnea oerstediana Klotzsch ex Oerst.
 * Columnea orientandina (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea ornata (Wiehler) L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea ovatifolia L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea oxyphylla Hanst.
 * Columnea pallida Rusby
 * Columnea panamensis C.V. Morton
 * Columnea paramicola (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea parviflora C.V. Morton
 * Columnea pectinata C.V. Morton
 * Columnea pedunculata M. Amaya, L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea pendula (Klotzsch ex Oerst.) Hanst.
 * Columnea perpulchra C.V. Morton
 * Columnea peruviana Zahlbr.
 * Columnea picta H. Karst.
 * Columnea polyantha (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea poortmannii (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea praetexta Hanst.
 * Columnea proctorii Stearn
 * Columnea pubescens (Griseb.) Kuntze
 * Columnea pulcherrima C.V. Morton
 * Columnea pulchra (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea purpurata Hanst.
 * Columnea purpureovittata (Wiehler) B.D. Morley
 * Columnea purpurimarginata L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea purpusii Standl.
 * Columnea pygmaea J.L. Clark & J.F. Sm.
 * Columnea querceti Oerst.
 * Columnea queremalensis M. Amaya, L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea raymondii C.V. Morton
 * Columnea repens (Hook.) Hanst.
 * Columnea reticulata M. Amaya, L.E. Skog, C.E. González, & J.F. Sm.
 * Columnea rileyi (Wiehler) J.F. Sm.
 * Columnea ringens Regel
 * Columnea robusta (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea rosea (C.V. Morton) C.V. Morton
 * Columnea rubida (C.V. Morton) C.V. Morton
 * Columnea rubra C.V. Morton
 * Columnea rubriacuta (Wiehler) L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea rubribracteata L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea rubricalyx L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea rubricaulis Standl.
 * Columnea rubrocincta C.V. Morton
 * Columnea rutilans Swartz
 * Columnea sanguinea (Pers.) Hanst.
 * Columnea sanguinolenta (Klotzsch ex Oerst.) Hanst.
 * Columnea scandens L.
 * Columnea schiedeana Schlechtend.
 * Columnea schimpffii Mansf.
 * Columnea segregata B.D. Morley
 * Columnea sericeo-villosa Suess.
 * Columnea serrata (Klotzsch ex Oerst.) Hanst.
 * Columnea silvarum C.V. Morton
 * Columnea skogii Amaya M.
 * Columnea spathulata Mansf.
 * Columnea strigosa Benth.
 * Columnea subcordata C.V. Morton
 * Columnea suffruticosa J.F. Sm. & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea sulcata L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea sulfurea Donn. Sm.
 * Columnea tandapiana (Wiehler) L.E. Skog & L.P. Kvist
 * Columnea tenella L.P. Kvist & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea tenensis (Wiehler) B.D. Morley
 * Columnea tenuis Klotzsch ex Oerst.
 * Columnea tessmannii Mansf.
 * Columnea tincta Griseb.
 * Columnea tomentulosa C.V. Morton
 * Columnea trollii Mansf.
 * Columnea tutunendana (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea ulei Mansf.
 * Columnea ultraviolacea J.F. Sm. & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea urbanii W.T. Stearn
 * Columnea verecunda C.V. Morton
 * Columnea villosissima Mansf.
 * Columnea vinacea C.V. Morton
 * Columnea vittata (Wiehler) L.E. Skog
 * Columnea xiphoidea J.F. Sm. & L.E. Skog
 * Columnea zebrina Raymond