Gesneria and Rhytidophyllum diversified in the Caribbean, and their presence in South or Central America is rare. They are almost entirely endemic to the Caribbean except for the following two species: 1) Rhytidophyllum onacaense is endemic to northern Colombia, where it is known from fewer than ten collections (only three from the last century) at the base of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a mountain range that is isolated from the Andes. 2) Rhytidophyllum cumanense is mostly known from Venezuela.

Gesneria acaulis is endemic to Jamaica

 

Rhytidophyllum auriculatum is native to Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, the island that contains both Haiti and the Dominican Republic

 

Gesneria ventricosa is endemic to the Lesser Antilles, the arc of island states between Puerto Rico and the South American continent

 

Rhytidophyllum rupincola is endemic to Cuba

 

Gesneria pedunculosa is endemic to Puerto Rico