SINNINGIA (named in honour of William Sinning, gardener to the University of Bonn on the Rhine). SYN. Gloxinia (many cultivated species). Including Biglandularia, Ligeria, Rosanovia, Stenogastra and Tapeionites. ORD. Gesneraceae. A genus comprising about sixteen species of very pretty, usually dwarf, pubescent or villous, stove herbs, natives of Brazil. Flowers showy, rarely rather small, solitary or fascicled in the axils, on short or long pedicels; calyx tube short and broadly turbinate, the limb leafy, deeply five-cleft or five-parted; corolla tube sub-equal at base or gibbous at back, elongated, broadly cylindrical or campanulate, the limb of five broad, spreading lobes; stamens included. Leaves opposite, often ample, long-stalked; floral ones reduced to bracts. Stems rising from a tuberous rhizome, simple or scarcely branched, sometimes almost wanting. The species best known to cultivation are described below. They require similar treatment to Gloxinia (which see). SINNINGIA barbata (bearded). fl., calyx nearly 1in. deep; corolla white, with red marks inside, much swollen at base, contracted at throat, hairy, 1 1/2in. long; peduncles 1/2in. long, axillary, solitary or twin. Summer. l. oblong or oblong-lanceolate, a few inches to nearly 1ft. long, attenuated at both ends, acute, crenate-serrate, pilose above, crimson beneath; petioles 1/2in. to 1 1/2in. long. Stem decumbent or ascending. 1867. (B. M. 5623; F. d. S. 1847; F. M. 336, under name of Tapeionites Carolinae.) The variety major (I. H. n. s. 506) only differs from the type in its larger proportions. SINNINGIA concinna (neat).* fl., calyx rather small, the segments much longer than the tube; corolla lurid-purple above, yellowish beneath, spotted within, nearly 1in. long, the tube much dilated towards the throat; peduncles axillary, scape-like, longer than the leaves. Summer and autumn. l. broadly round-ovate, deeply crenate, rather small. Stem 1/2in. to 1in. long, and, as well as the petioles, peduncles, and nerves, red. 1860. (B. M. 5253, under name of Stenogaster concinna; F. d. S. 1533 and I. H. 1864, 390, under name of Stenogastra concinna.) The variety multiflora (I. H. 1864, 390, left-hand figure, under name of Stenogastra multiflora) is a handsome garden plant, with larger leaves than its parent, and lilac-blue flowers. SINNINGIA conspicua (conspicuous).* fl., calyx segments lanceolate, spreading; corolla yellow, paler without than on the inside, the lower part of the tube marked on the inside with elegant, purple lines and dots, obliquely infundibular-campanulate. Summer. l. opposite, ovate-oblong, shortly acuminate, slightly cordate at the base, dentate. Rhizome tuberous. h. 1ft. Brazil, 1868. Plant hairy, free-flowering. SYNS. Biglandularia conspicua and Rosanowia conspicua (R. G. 712). Rosanowia ornata (F. d. S. 2423-4) is a fine hybrid, with flowers of a pure white, lined with light rose on the tube and the two upper lobes of the corolla, the throat slightly greenish-yellow. SINNINGIA guttata (spotted). fl., calyx narrow-campanulate; corolla pale greenish, the tube very thickly spotted with purple or fuscous dots, the upper lip of the limb slightly reclinate; peduncles shorter than the calyx, nearly equalling the petioles. June. l. oblong-ovate, acuminate, cuneate at base, crenate-toothed, entire at base, velvety-pubescent. Stem ascending, slender, leafy. h. 1 1/2ft. 1827. This species much resembles SINNINGIA velutina. (B. R. 1112; P. M. B. ii. 4.) SINNINGIA Helleri (Heller's). fl., calyx red, large, sometimes 2in. long; corolla white, the throat greenish and spotted with red, often 3in. long, tumid at base, the lobes of the limb broad and round; peduncles erect, scarcely 1in. long. June. l. convex, ovate-oblong, 4in. to 7in. long, acute, mostly cuneate at base, crenate-serrate, velvety-pubescent, more or less approaching the soil; petioles (as well as the peduncles, stem, and under surface of leaves) purplish. Stem a few inches high, thick, and slightly woody. 1820. (B. R. 997; B. M. 4212, under name of SINNINGIA velutina.) SINNINGIA hirsuta (hairy). fl., calyx red, 1/2in. long, very villous, the segments sub-erect; corolla lilac, twelve to fourteen lines long and broad, the limb dotted with violet, the lobes sub-emarginate, the tube pale pilose outside, purple-spotted within; peduncles glomerate or sub-racemose, shorter than the leaves. July. l. few, broadly ovate, obtuse, cordate, 3in. to 5in. long, deeply crenate, purplish beneath; petioles 1in. to 1 1/2in. long. Stem a few inches long, prostrate, clothed with long, white villi. 1824. (B. M. 2690, B. R. 1004, and L. B. C. 1296, under name of Gloxinia hirsuta.) SINNINGIA Menziesiana (Menzies'). fl., calyx large, with very long, linear-lanceolate segments, densely hairy-villous; corolla ample, the limb violet, the throat copiously dotted with red; peduncles longer than either petioles or flowers. August. l. ovate, obtuse, cordate, crenate, villous. Stem shortened. (B. M. 3943, under name of Gloxinia speciosa Menziesii.) SINNINGIA speciosa (showy).* fl., calyx segments ovate-lanceolate, shortly villous; corolla usually violet in the type, ample, campanulate. September. l. oblong, obtuse or slightly acute, convex, usually attenuated at base, crenate, velvety and sparsely pilose. Stem short. 1815. From this species a large number of very beautiful garden varieties and hybrids have been raised, a list of which will be found under their popular name, Gloxinia (which see). See Fig. 487. SYNS. Gloxinia Passinghamii (P. M. B. xii. 267), G. speciosa (B. 105, 149; B. M. 1937; B. R. iii. 213, xxx. 48; L. B. C. 28), Ligeria speciosa. A selection of garden forms, widely differing in colour, are figured as Gloxinias in the following works: R. G. 1852, 4, and 1853, 44; P. M. B. xi. 199, and xv. 169; F. d. S. 1885 and 1918. SINNINGIA speciosa albiflora (white-flowered). fl. white. (B. M. 3206, under name of Gloxinia speciosa albiflora.) SINNINGIA speciosa caulescens (caulescent). l. larger than in the type. Stem produced, thick. 1826. (B. R. 1127 and L. B. C. 1566, under name of Gloxinia caulescens.) SINNINGIA speciosa macrophylla (large-leaved). l. very large, with white nerves. 1844. (B. M. 3934, under name of Gloxinia speciosa macrophylla variegata.) SINNINGIA speciosa rubra (red). fl. of a splendid red. (P. M. B. vii. 271, under name of Gloxinia rubra.) SINNINGIA velutina (velvety). fl., calyx infundibular-campanulate, 1in. long, with triangular segments; corolla pale greenish, 1 1/2in. to 2in. long, gibbous at base, constricted at throat, the limb spreading; peduncles shorter than the calyx. June. l. ovate, acute, rounded or nearly cordate at base, 2in. to 4 1/2in. long, green on both sides, the nerves, as well as the stem and petioles, at length purplish, crenate-serrated, puberulous or often nearly glabrous above. Stem erect, sometimes 1 1/2ft. high, slender, leafy. 1827. (L. B. C. 1398.) SINNINGIA villosa (villous). fl., calyx amply or shortly campanulate, spreading, the segments ovate and slightly acute; corolla yellowish-green, almost semi-globose, 1 1/2in. to 2in. long, the limb 1in. broad, sub-equal, spreading; peduncles shorter than the petioles. June. l. oblong-ovate, convex, acuminate, sometimes nearly lanceolate, 3in. to 5in. long, usually acute at base, crenate. Stem erect, 1 1/2in. or more thick. h. 1ft. 1827. (B. R. 1134.) SINNINGIA Youngiana (Young's).* fl. axillary or terminal, solitary; calyx lobes ovate, acuminate; corolla more or less intensely violet or purple, with the exception of the campanulate tube, which is yellowish-white at the base, and at the throat, which is spotted; lobes almost equal, round. Summer. l. opposite, petiolate, oblong or ovate, crenated, pale or almost whitish below. Stem erect, purplish, 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. high. Rhizome tuberous, several inches in diameter. A hybrid between SINNINGIA speciosa and SINNINGIA velutina. (B. M. 4954.)