1. Type species
2. Development
3. Blooms
4. Tuber
5. One Year To The Next (and how dormancy behavior may have contributed to disappearance from cultivation a century ago).
6. Flowerbuds
7. Hybridization
8. Feature table

Sinningia helleri

This is Hung Nguyen's picture of his own plant, taken early November 2015.  The plant was only four months old at the time.  It is possible that Hung was the first person outside a small area of Brazil to see a flower on this species in 100 years.

Type Species

Sinningia helleri is the type species of the genus Sinningia, which means the genus is tied to this species.  As long as the genus is recognized, it must include S. helleri.  Therefore, to some extent, the definition of sinningia depends on the characteristics of S. helleri.

Until a few years ago, this species was unknown either in the wild or in cultivation, and was believed extinct.  It was found in the wild in 2015 and Mauro Peixoto distributed seeds.

A few people sowed seeds obtained from Mauro.  Most got germination.  The seedlings bore a strong resemblance to Sinningia guttata plants at that stage.

Development

This is my largest plant, photographed on 15 December 2015. It was just over 4 months old at the time, from seed.  (Hung's plant was already in bloom at that age.) It was 20 cm [8 inches] across at this time.  The leaves are distinctly silvery.

This is the same plant, three months later, still not in bloom.  The silvery color of the leaves is even more pronounced.

Here are my three plants in May 2016.  The picture shows the differences in foliage and growth rate.

Blooms

This is the middle plant in the above picture, in bloom in June 2016.

This is the large plant from the group picture, photographed in June 2016.

Growth in subsequent years has suggested that the silvery leaf color is due to culture and not genetics.  This plant had normal green leaves in 2017.

Tuber

Sinningia helleri has a normal-looking tuber.

Flowerbuds

This is from Hung's picture of his own plant, taken 7 October 2015.

Hybridization

This is the first Sinningia helleri hybrid of the modern era.  The seed parent was Sinningia guttata.  Hung Nguyen is the hybridizer and grower.

This plant won Best In Show at the San Francisco Gesneriad Society's show on 27 August 2016.

This is Hung's picture of his own plant.