Herbs or shrubs, epiphytic or terrestrial, leaves opposite, often succulent, often serrate often hairy. Flowers mostly conspicuous.
Distribution
Palaeo- and neotropics (lowland forests and in subandean forests), Australia.
Floral characters
Inflorecentes cymose or racemose, or flowers solitary and auxiliary, usualy zygomophic. Sepals 4-5, free or basaly connate. Corolla 5-lobed, often bilabiate, with tube of various shape. Disc present or not. Stamens mostly 4, didynamous, the anthers coherent in 2 pairs or all together. Ovary mostly superior, 1-locular, style 1, stigma 1, usually 2-lobed; placentation parietal with infinite ovules on 2 placentas.
Leaf characters
leaves usually simple and opposite, often succulent, often serrate, often hairy.
Stipules
absent
Fruit characters
Berry or a 2-4-valved capsules. Seeds very numerous, tiny.
Glands
absent
Hairs
mostly present; on leaves and/or on stem, often gland-headed
Latex
absent
Uses
Ornamental plants
Distribution maps
(online von http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/ . Dort zitiert wie unter jedem Diagramm vermerkt):
Didymocarpoideae (Gesneriaceae)
map: from van Steenis & van Balgooy 1966 [Malesia and Pacific]; Hillard & Burtt 1971 [Africa]; New World is only approximate
