Sinningia speciosa

One of the presentations at The Gesneriad Society's 2011 Convention was "Genetic Diversity in Sinningia speciosa: History and Origins of the Florist Gloxinia" by David Zaitlin, Ph.D. (University of Kentucky). If you are a member of The Gesneriad Society, you would have seen his article in the current issue of the Gesneriads journal. The journal includes illustrations of old prints, such as these:

Presentation materials from David Zaitlin's lecture at the Convention.

David Zaitlin also exhibited a plant of Sinningia 'John Fyfe', named after the grower of the first known example of upward-facing peloric flowers.  You can see a print of John Fyfe's plant above, in the center top row.

The hybrid Sinningia 'John Fyfe' contains non-speciosa blood in its ancestry, as explained in the educational card:

David Zaitlin also exhibited an example of a "natural" (non-peloric) form of Sinningia speciosa, with more slipper-shaped flowers. This one is referred to as Sinningia speciosa 'Serra da Vista':

For more reading, the article in the Gesneriads journal is highly recommended.