Incarvillea is a genus of approximately 16 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, within the order Lamiales. Unlike the majority of Bignoniaceae — a family dominated by tropical woody vines and trees — Incarvillea species are herbaceous perennials adapted to cool temperate climates, making them unusual within their family. The genus is native to central and eastern Asia, with the greatest diversity concentrated at high altitudes across the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau.
The most widely cultivated species is Incarvillea delavayi, commonly known as hardy gloxinia or Chinese trumpet flower, which is prized in temperate gardens for its large, showy, pink to purple trumpet-shaped flowers and its tolerance of cold conditions. The flowers are characteristic of the Bignoniaceae, featuring a tubular corolla with flared petals, and are borne on upright stems above deeply divided, pinnate leaves.
Molecular genetic analysis has revealed considerable internal structure within the genus, dividing it into five distinct clades: subgenus Niedzwedzkia, subgenus Amphicome, subgenus Incarvillea, subgenus Pteroscleris, and the species Incarvillea olgae, which does not fit cleanly into any of these subgenera and may warrant its own subgenus in future taxonomic revisions.
The genus is named in honour of Pierre Nicholas Le Chéron d'Incarville, an 18th-century French Jesuit missionary and botanist who collected plants in China and made early contributions to the knowledge of Chinese flora in Europe.
Etymology
Incarvillea is named after Pierre Nicholas Le Chéron d'Incarville (1706–1757), a French Jesuit missionary and botanist who worked in China and introduced numerous Chinese plant species to European botanical science.
Distribution
The genus is native to central and eastern Asia, with the majority of species occurring at high altitudes in the Himalaya and on the Tibetan Plateau. A few species extend into adjacent mountain ranges of Central Asia.
Cultivation
Incarvillea delavayi and related species are grown as ornamental perennials in temperate gardens, valued for their large, trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of pink, purple, or white. They thrive in well-drained soils in full sun and are tolerant of cold winters, though in colder climates the fleshy roots benefit from a protective mulch. Most species are more suited to rock gardens or borders than to heavy, waterlogged soils.
