Sinningia insularis

1. Stem tip preparing to bloom
2. Hardiness
3. Feature table
4. Publication and etymology

Sinningia insularis is an easy-to-grow species with abundant, rather small, reddish-orange flowers.

A distinctive feature of S. insularis is the large shiny red fruits (see picture to the right).  This species self-pollinates readily.

The leaves are very firm and stiff, almost as much so as those of Sinningia macrostachya.  They are usually in whorls of three.  In my yard, this species is tolerant of full sun and occasional drought.  I believe it is one of the easiest sinningia species to grow.

This picture shows the characteristic three-pointed star at the tip of a shoot of this species preparing to bloom.

This appears to be different plant from the one above, since the base of the calyx is green in this one but dark red in the other. The pictures were taken about ten years apart.

Hardiness

For the winter of 2012-2013, I left most of my sinningias out exposed to the elements, in their pots.  Winter rainfall was about normal in its totals, although concentrated most in November and December.  Temperatures were a bit lower than normal.  The coldest nights were around 27 F [-2.5 C].

Most of the sinningias survived the exposure without problems.  Sinningia insularis was a conspicuous exception.  I had three large tubers of it, with their pots placed in different parts of the yard.  Two of the three tubers rotted.

Therefore it appears that this species has tubers that are vulnerable to being cold while wet, more vulnerable than most other species.

Publication

As Rechsteineria insularis by Hoehne, in 1958.  Chautems transferred it to Sinningia in 1990.

Etymology: from Latin insula ("island").

According to Mauro Peixoto (information on Gesneriphiles), this species comes from Ilha dos Alcatrazes, an island in São Paolo State (Brazil).

As in Spanish, alcatraz in Portuguese means "pelican".  The word has an interesting history, being borrowed into Portuguese from Arabic al-qādūs, in turn borrowed from Greek kados, meaning "jar", apparently in reference to the pelican's big scoop beak.  The English word "albatross" is a corrupted version of "alcatraz". [Weekley, 1921].