African violets

African violets

 

The botanical name for African violets is 'Saintpaulia'. It is in the family of Gesneriaceae which also includes such plants as Gloxinia, Streptocarpus, Aeschynanthus, and Episcia. Happy Growing! Joyce Stork

http://avsa.org/faq-avnames

 

Saintpaulias, commonly known as African violets, are a genus of 6–20 species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent southeastern Kenya in eastern tropical Africa. Typically the African violet is a common household indoor plant but can also be an outdoor plant.

Several of the species and subspecies are endangered, and many more are threatened, due to their native cloud forest habitats being cleared for agriculture. The conservation status of Saintpaulia ionantha has been classed as near-threatened.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saintpaulia

 

REAL ESTATE

African Violets Are Really Gesneriads

March 26, 1989

You probably remember African violets as the plants your grandmother raised years ago. African violets are as popular today as they were back then, and now there are dozens of new varieties to choose from. The name African violet is somewhat of a misnomer. The plants aren't violets at all, but gesneriads, close cousins to achimenes, episcia, columnea and gloxinia. African vilets are named after the Dutch baron who discovered them in the mountains of East Africa.

http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/african-violets