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Gesneriaceae
African Violet
Saintpaulia ionantha
Devotion, dedication, enduring love.
- Family
- Gesneriaceae
- Genus
- Saintpaulia
- Native to
- Tanzania (Usambara mountains)
- Bloom season
- Year-Round
- Type
- Tender perennial
- Height
- 10–15 cm (4–6 in)
- Sunlight
- Bright indirect light
- Soil
- Loose, peat-based
- Water
- Moderate, from below
- Hardiness
- 11–12
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- African violets are not violets at all—they're members of the gesneriad family, far more closely related to gloxinias and cape primroses than to garden violets.
- All cultivated African violets descend from just a few wild plants discovered in 1892 by Baron Walter von Saint Paul, the German colonial governor of East Africa, in the Usambara mountains.
- Tragically, the wild Tanzanian populations are now critically endangered due to deforestation—the species that became one of the world's most popular houseplants is vanishing in its only home.
- Over 20,000 named cultivars have been registered with the African Violet Society of America—a single window can hold a lifetime collection of unique plants.
- African violets are the model for studies on plant cell genetics—they're famous for producing 'sports' (sudden mutations) that give entire new flower colors from a single leaf cutting.
Color meanings
0
devotion
1
dedication
2
enduring love