Pearcea is a genus of tropical herbaceous plants in the family Gesneriaceae native to western South America. It is classified in tribe Gloxinieae and is closely related to the genus Kohleria, in which some of its species were previously included. The genus Parakohleria has recently been synonymized under Pearcea, a conclusion later supported by molecular analyses that showed that Pearcea hypocyrtiflora was nested within the former Parakohlerias.
The best-known and most widely cultivated species is Pearcea hypocyrtiflora, a low-growing herb with attractively marked leaves and unusual bubble-like red or orange flowers.
Species 19 species are accepted. Pearcea abunda (Wiehler) L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea bella Pearcea bilabiata L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea cordata L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea fuscicalyx Pearcea glabrata L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea gracilis L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea grandifolia L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea hispidissima (Wiehler) L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea hypocyrtiflora (Hook.f.) Regel Pearcea intermedia L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea lutea Pearcea pileifolia J.L.Clark & L.E.Skog Pearcea purpurea (Poepp.) L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea reticulata (Fritsch) L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea rhodotricha (Cuatrec.) L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea schimpfii Mansf. Pearcea sprucei (Britton) L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog Pearcea strigosa L.P.Kvist & L.E.Skog
References
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. Wiehler, H. 1978. Parakohleria, a new South American genus in the Gesneriaceae. Selbyana 5(1): 4–10.
External links Kvist, L.P. & L.E. Skog. 1996. Revision of Pearcea (Gesneriaceae). Smithsonian Contrib. Bot. 84: 1-47 (pdf file).