Sinningia brasiliensis (Gesneriaceae), Botanic Garden of Zürich, 2009. The Gesneriaceae are a large pantropical family of mostly herbaceous plants. Like the related Acanthaceae, they are comparatively irrelevant for us humans except as ornamentals. What makes these families, and not least the genus Sinningia, particularly interesting are their diverse pollination syndromes. With its greenish color, short, wide opening and the placement of the anthers and stigma, this species is clearly adapted to bat pollination but others are hummingbird- or insect pollinated.
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