Gesneraceæ

Gesneraceæ, a sub-order of Scrophulariaceæ, including about 700 species, mostly herbs, chiefly of tropical America. They are frequently noted for the beauty of their flowers, notably Gloxinia, Achimenes, and other common inmates of our greenhouses. Fieldia africana, however, yields the so-called African Teak. Of the closely allied Crescentiaceæ, the Calabash Tree (q.v.) is of most importance.