Hosta (/ˈhɒstə/,[5] syn. Funkia) is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name gibōshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. The genus is currently placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae,[6] and is native to northeast Asia (China, Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East).[2] Like many "lilioid monocots", the genus was once classified in the Liliaceae. The genus was named by Austrian botanist Leopold Trattinnick in 1812,[7] in honor of the Austrian botanist Nicholas Thomas Host.[8] In 1817, the generic name Funkia was used by German botanist Kurt Sprengel in honor of Heinrich Christian Funck, a collector of ferns and alpines;[9] this was later used as a common name and can be found in some older literature.
