The brilliant red flowers of this species have long attracted collectors and horticulturists. In fact, as Cyrilla pulchella it was the very first Gesneriad to be published as a colored engraving.
Note that the photographed color of these flowers can vary; the color above is generally accurate for most cultivars of the species, although it is somewhat more saturated than in real life. Other photos may exhibit more of a purplish tone, but this is likely a function of the film or digital sensitivities of a camera.
The clone shown above was collected as a rhizome from a plant growing in the middle of a grassy riverside path in western Belize. Other photos can be seen in a slideshow by clicking one of the links below:
- A flower on a plant grown at the Prague Botanical Garden
- The flowers on a group of plants grown in Japan
- A. erecta ‘Tiny Red’, a somewhat smaller selection of the species