Hardy species in the Gesneriaceae or African Violet family from Greece and Bulgaria where it favors shaded rocky outcrops.  Our old mama plants fill a 3 gallon pot with a packed dome of evergreen leafy rosettes that give rise to 4"-5" stems with flowers of pale lavender faces and dark corolla base.

If the nursery catches on fire or there is an EF5 tornado bearing down or skies darken from a locust plague of biblical proportions, this is in the first armload we grab. A gesneriad from our collection in Asia where this grew on shaded, mossy rock faces enjoying Acer griseum and Emmenopterys henryi as neighbors. Gloriously large, totally tubular lavender-pink flowers awaken urges long forgotten. Hardy here at FRF in the maritime PNW.

This is from seed collected in 2010 at 3500' from cliffs on the lower slopes of Fanjingshan in Guizhou.  What fun it was to see this gesneriad in the wild!  Purplish flowers are held on short 4" stems and this is a must-have if you fancy Afican Violets and Streptocarpus.  Frost-free and good drainage.

Staggeringly good introduction by Jens Nilsen from the China-Myanmar border region.  This incomparable Lipstick Vine species is comment-provoking even out of flower with abruptly pendulous branches holding thick, long leaves. The red tubular flowers are the cherry on the Aeschynanthus sundae.

A Vietnam species which has been hardy to 15F.  Great container plant with tubular red flowers which can easily be moved inside for the winter where it can serve as a houseplant  until it is time to go back outside.  Or keep it outside until there is danger of frost and then hustle it in and bring it back out when safe.

We saw this grown to perfection at the Charlton-Sale garden in North Vancouver BC, and left us stricken dumb in the wilderness.  This Chilean and Argentinian gesneriad demands a cool, humid, acidic, moist, somewhat shaded and relatively mild situation to thrive.  A small-leafed evergreen groundcover which will climb tightly appressed over or up boulders or logs. Given time, to 10'

A collection from China of this surpirisingly hardy gesneriad whose identity remains a mystery.  This was growing on a mountain summit in a shaded area with hard limestone outcrops coated in thick moss which proved ideal conditions for this little gem.  Tubular yellow flowers are a delight and has handled 10F in our garden growing in a stump.

Sweet little gesneriad from our collection in Asia in an area not botanized by westerners.  This was common in soil pockets on rock faces where it formed rosettes of evergreen leaves with flower stems to 10" tall.  Up to 9 tubular  light purple flowers on each reddish stem.

Or as we like to say, Lah-go Poo-Yay-Way.  Presumably collected near the Chilean lake for which it is named, this uncommon clone is not horticulturally distinct from the Lake Caburqua form but does represent important genetic diversity in this monotypic genus.  Scrambling and rambling and climbing woody gesneriad with orange tubular flowers and hardy here in Zone 8.  A good wall plant for sure.

A collection from Steve Hootman of this Asian species which we are very pleased to offer.  The leaves have incredible substance to them - very succulent and get some good size to them as well.  We call it "that cabbage gesneriad" and it puts on a show with its pink flowers.  It enjoys shade as too much light reddens up the leaves which wouldn't be such a bad thing if you hit the sweet spot on light intensity. This looks plenty hardy if it doesn't get close to 32F!

Cool little gesneriad which recently was transferred from the now defunct genus Briggsia Glabrella.  We only call this molecular meddling when we are updating our various database entries and pot tags.  Shaded moist areas in Guangxi and SE Yunnan and can take light frosts.  White/pale pink flowers.

A lovely shrubby epiphytic Indochina gesneriad in the same genus as lipstick vine.  That comparison made, this should be an excellent houseplant although we speculate that it ought to take a brief light frost.  A lot of the exposed limestone ridges radiate heat away at night making them colder.  Red tubular flowers.

A collection by Shayne Chandler from the Five Fingers mountain range in Vietnam.  This zone 8 hardy shrubby gesneriad was first introduced by Steve Hootman over 20 years ago from China and it is good to have another collection from a new area.  Tubular red-orange flowers and boxwood-like leaves.

Our collection from an area little visited by Westerners and part of our ongoing effort to collect and grow comparative specimens from across its range in Vietnam and China.  Same genus as Lipstick Vine, this shrubby gesneriad has proven hardy in mild gardens here in western Washington.  Tubular red-orange flowers.

This gesneriad comes from southern Jiangxi Province in China via an Atlanta Botanic Garden collection.  Hemiboea defy what we know inherently to be true by being surprisingly hardy when they look very tender.  Broad leaves with large foxglove-like white flowers spattered in red dots with a yellow throat.