Columnea minor is an exotic, dramatic, beautiful, and hard-to-grow species that is also highly variable — for illustration of this check out these very different versions (here, here, here, here, and here. A whole trailing plant, grown indoors, illustrates the wiry stems and lax trailing habit typical of the species, can be seen here). It is possible that one or more of these are hybrids.

This is a highly variable species characterized by thin, wiry, trailing stems, and maroon to dark red flowers emerging from a very fimbriate (divided) calyx. They make handsome specimens, and can be grown in a bright window if provided with decent humidity and moderate to cool temps. They are not always easy to grow.

Columnea minor is one member of this genus which has had various taxonomic homes. Some botanists have split the genus Columnea into five separate genera. Under that scheme this species would be known as Trichantha minor. As noted in the Genus page for Columnea, we have opted for the scheme that aggregates all members of this group in the single genus Columnea. Other members of the Trichantha section of the genus with fimbriate calyces are C. filifera and C. fimbricalyx.

USBRG 1995-028