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Sinningia cardinalis

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Author:  Harold Emery Moore, 1973
Family:  GESNERIACEAE
Origin:  SE Brazil
Soil:  Rich
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Medium
Thickness:  6 Centimetres
Height:  30 Centimetres
Flower:  Bright Red
Propagate:  Seeds/Cuttings
Names:  Cardinal Flower, Helmet Flower
Synonyms:  Gesneria cardinalis, Lehmann, 1850.
Gesneria macrantha,
Spreng.
Rechsteineria cardinalis
Kuntze, 1891.
Dircaea cardinalis
, Regel, 1853.
Corytholoma cardinale,
Fritsch, 1894.
Corytholoma melittifolium, Brongn. ex Decne.
Dircaea lobulata,
Lem.
Dircaea macrantha,
Lem.
Gesneria lateritia,
Paxton.
Gesneria melittifolia,
Brongn.
Gesneria umbellata,
Decne.
Rechsteineria umbellata,
Hjelmq.

This member of the Gesneriaceae family was given this name by Harold Emery Moore in 1973. It is found in south-eastern Brazil, growing in sphagnum peat moss or other forms of well-drained soil with some water, high humidity and some sun. The caudex will get six centimetres or more in diameter, the stems will get 30 centimetres high. The flowers are, as the name indicates, bright red. It can be reproduced both by seeds and cuttings.

SubFamily: Gesnerioideae, Tribe: Gloxineae

The genera is named after Wilhelm Sinning,1792–1874, a gardener of the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. The species name actually means 'essential,' but referring to the 'cardinals robes' colour.