Family GesneriaceaeThis attractive plant, commonly known as the Cape primrose, is a native of South Africa. There are several species in cultivation of which there are two types: stemless and stemmed. It is the hybrids which have been developed from the stemless species that are grown as pot plants for the house and greenhouse. Of the stemless hybrids there are two main types, namely plants which form only one large leaf, and plants which form several leaves of similar size arranged in the form of a rosette.
The flowers, which are funnel-shaped, flaring out to a five-lobed open mouth, are fairly large and are borne on wiry stems about 10 in (25 cm) high, usually two or three flowers on each stem. The flowers have a wide range of colour in shades of red, blue, lilac purple, pink and white often with a throat veined in a contrasting colour. The modern streptocarpus is a vast improvement on the species and the old varieties, and is a beautiful and most useful flowering pot plant as it has such a long flowering period.
