Mandirola

Mandirola is a small genus of the Gesneriaceae with three species. It is native to Brazil. Plants are herbaceous, producing scaly rhizomes that allow the plants to persist through their somewhat dry dormancy.

Mandirola ichthyostoma is the most common species of the genus in cultivation. The species epithet translates to "fish's mouth". It prefers to grow in moist conditions, and some people grow the plants with part of the root system submerged in a tray of water. It produces tiny little scaly rhizomes. The photos below were taken by Nhu Nguyen of plants grown by a member of the San Francisco Gesneriad society.