Callisia is a genus of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the spiderwort

Tradescantia

Tradescantia , the Spiderworts, is a genus of an estimated 71 species of perennial plants in the family Commelinaceae, native to the New World from southern Canada south to northern Argentina. They are weakly upright to scrambling plants, growing to 30–60 cm tall, and are commonly found...

 family, Commelinaceae

Commelinaceae

Commelinaceae is a family of flowering plants. In less formal contexts, the group is referred to as the dayflower family or spiderwort family. It is one of five families in the order Commelinales and by far the largest of these with an estimated 650 species in 40 genera. Well known genera include...

. Members of the genus are commonly known as Roselings. The generic name is derived from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 word καλλον (kallos), meaning "beauty."

Some of the Callisia family may cause allergic reactions in pets (especially cats and dogs), characterised by red, itchy skin. Notable culprits are C. fragrans (Inch Plant) and C. repens (Turtle Vine).

Selected species

Callisia cordifolia (Sw. Olof Swartz Olof Peter Swartz was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes... ) E.S.Anderson Edgar Anderson Edgar Anderson was an American botanist. His 1949 book Introgressive Hybridization was an original and important contribution to botanical genetics....  & Woodson Robert Everard Woodson -References:... – Florida Roseling Callisia fragrans Callisia fragrans Callisia fragrans, commonly known as the Basket Plant, Chain Plant or Inch Plant, is a species of the Callisia genus, in the Commelinaceae family.Basket plant is native to South America. The country of origin of the plant is Mexico.... (Lindl.) Woodson Callisia gentlei Matuda C. gentlei var. elegans (Alexander ex H.E.Moore Harold E. Moore Harold Emery Moore, Jr. was an American botanist especially known for his work on the systematics of the palm family. He served as Director of the L. H. Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University, and was appointed Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Botany in 1978... ) D.R.Hunt David Hunt (botanist) David Richard Hunt is an English botanist and taxonomist. He is a specialist in cacti and notably compiled the 1999 CITES Cactaceae Checklist.- References :... (=C. elegans) C. gentlei var. gentlei Callisia graminea (Small John Kunkel Small John Kunkel Small was an American botanist.He was the first Curator of Museums at The New York Botanical Garden, a post in which he served from 1898 until 1906. From 1906 to 1934 he was Head Curator and then from 1934 until his death he was Chief Research Associate and Curator... ) G.Tucker – Grassleaf Roseling Callisia micrantha (Torr.) D.R.Hunt – Littleflower Roseling

Callisia monandra (Sw.) J.A. & J.H.Schultes – Cojite Morado Callisia navicularis (Ortgies) D.R.Hunt Callisia ornata (Small) G.Tucker – Florida Scrub Roseling Callisia repens (Jacq.) L. – Creeping Inchplant Callisia rosea (Vent.) D.R.Hunt – Piedmont Roseling Callisia warszewicziana (Kunth & C.D.Bouché) D.R.Hunt

Formerly placed here

• Neodonnellia grandiflora (Donn.Sm.) Rose (as C. grandiflora Donn.Sm.)

External links