Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia: Difference between revisions

Saintpaulia
	a Saintpaulia ionantha cultivar
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Gesneriaceae
Genus:	Saintpaulia; J.C.Wendl.
Species
	Saintpaulia inconspicua; Saintpaulia goetzeana; Saintpaulia ionantha; Saintpaulia pusilla; Saintpaulia shumensis; Saintpaulia teitensis

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Saintpaulia, commonly known as African violet, is a genus of 6 species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent southeastern Kenya in eastern tropical Africa, with a concentration of species in the Nguru mountains of Tanzania. The genus is most closely related to Streptocarpus, with recent phylogenetic studies suggesting it has evolved directly from subgenus Streptocarpella. The common name was given due to a superficial resemblance to true violets (Viola, family Violaceae).

Taxonomy

The genus is named after Baron Walter von Saint Paul-Illaire (1860-1910), the district commissioner of Tanga province who discovered the plant in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in Africa in 1892 and sent seeds back to his father, an amateur botanist in Germany. Two British plant enthusiasts, Sir John Kirk and Reverend W.E. Taylor, had earlier collected and submitted specimens to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1884 and 1887 respectively, but the quality of specimens was insufficient to permit scientific description at that time. The genus Saintpaulia, and original species S. ionantha, were scientifically described by J. C. Wendland in 1893.

Saintpaulias grow from 6-15 cm tall and can be anywhere from 6-30 cm wide. The leaves are rounded to oval, 2.5-8.5 cm long with a 2-10 cm petiole, finely hairy, and with a fleshy texture. The flowers are 2-3 cm diameter, with a five-lobed velvety corolla ("petals"), and grow in clusters of 3-10 or more on slender stalks (peduncles). Flower colour in the wild species can be violet, purple, pale blue, or white.

Several of the species and subspecies are endangered, and many more are threatened, due to clearance of their native cloud forest habitat for agriculture.

Revisions of the genus by B.L. Burtt had expanded the genus to approximately 20 species. On the basis of recent studies that showed most of the species to be very poorly differentiated, both genetically and morphologically, the number of species has been reduced to 6, with the majority of former species reduced to subspecies under S. ionantha, in a recent floristic treatment (Darbyshire 2006).

Old name vs. current name

Saintpaulia amaniensis = S. ionantha ssp. grotei
Saintpaulia brevipilosa = S. ionantha ssp. velutina
Saintpaulia confusa = S. ionantha ssp. grotei
Saintpaulia difficilis = S. ionantha ssp. grotei
Saintpaulia diplotricha = S. ionantha ssp. ionantha var. diplotricha
Saintpaulia grandifolia = S. ionantha ssp. grandifolia
Saintpaulia grotei = S. ionantha ssp. grotei
Saintpaulia intermedia = S. ionantha ssp. pendula
Saintpaulia magungensis = S. ionantha ssp. grotei
Saintpaulia magungensis var. minima = S. ionantha ssp. grotei
Saintpaulia magungensis var. occidentalis = S. ionantha ssp. occidentalis
Saintpaulia nitida = S. ionantha ssp. nitida
Saintpaulia orbicularis = S. ionantha ssp. orbicularis
Saintpaulia pendula = S. ionantha ssp. pendula
Saintpaulia pendula var. kizarae = S. ionantha ssp. pendula
Saintpaulia rupicola = S. ionantha ssp. rupicola
Saintpaulia tongwensis = S. ionantha ssp. ionantha var. ionantha
Saintpaulia velutina = S. ionantha ssp. velutina

Cultivation

File:Pink African Violet.jpg

A pink, double-flowered cultivar

Saintpaulias are widely cultivated as house plants. Until recently, only a few of these species have been used in breeding programs for the hybrids available in the market; most available as house plants are cultivars derived from Saintpaulia ionantha (syn. S. kewensis). A wider range of species is now being looked at as sources of genes to introduce into modern cultivars.

Over 16,700 cultivars have been selected for horticultural use. There are many different leaf and flower types found; cultivars are classified as Large, Standard, Trailing, Semi-mini, Mini, and Micro with Micro being the smallest. They range in flower colour from white, pink, violet, dark red, yellow, and some even green, and the flowers may be either single (five petals) or double (more than five, with some or all of the stamens converted into extra petals). Flowers are not always a solid colour, but can also be found in the "fantasy" variety where the petals have strips of colours going down them. One interesting flower form found in the African Violet are known as a "wasp"; these flowers have the upper two flower petals independently fused forming a tube. There are also compound leaves on some, that are called "bustled". Chimeras are very popular also, these have the desirable striped "pinwheel" blooms.

Saintpaulias can be propagated by leaf cuttings (essential for propagating named cultivars) or seed (from which new cultivars are selected). Chimeras need to be reproduced from stem suckers or bloomstalks. African violets prefer a constant temperature between 20-25 °C (68-77 °F) with high humidity, and thrive best planted in well-drained humus or coir compost. Many African Violet growers are now using a sterile soil-less potting mix, made up from Vermiculite, Perlite and Peat.

Some popular early cultivars include 'Amazen Grace', 'Blue Border', 'Claret Queen', 'Dupont Blue', 'Ding Dong Trail', 'Glacier', 'Little Jewel', 'Mini Marina', 'Pink Miracle', and 'Porcelain'.

Diseases

References

Darbyshire, I. 2006. Gesneriaceae. In H.J. Beentje & S.A. Ghazanfar (eds.), Flora of Tropical East Africa.

External links

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 * ''Saintpaulia tongwensis'' = ''S. ionantha'' ssp. ''ionantha'' var. ''ionantha''
 * ''Saintpaulia velutina'' = ''S. ionantha'' ssp. ''velutina''
-아프리칸 바이올렛에는 많은 종류가 있다. 또한 1980년부터 반겹꽃, 겹꽃, 대형종 등 화형이 풍부해지고 화색도 환타지형(스프레이한 것 같은 화색), 스트라이프, 웨이브 등 해마다 다채로운 종류가 발표되고 있다.
-보통종(스탠다드)
-포기가 커지면 직경 50~60cm까지 커지지만 포기가 작더라도 꽃이 핀다. 품종도 많고 잎에 무늬가 들어간 종류(녹색의 잎에 백색, 황색, 핑크색, 갈색 등 여러 색이 들어간 것)도 있다.
-옵티마라종
-화원에서 눈에 띄는 귀여운 분화는 거의가 이 종류이다.1970년 대 초에 독일에서 만들어진 것으로 1980년에는 옵티마라 시리즈로 미국과 캐나다의 도시명을 붙여 발표되었다. 한번 개화하면 3개월 정도는 꽃이 피지 않는 성질이 있다.
-미니종
-형태는 보통종과 같으나 포기, 꽃, 잎 등이 모두 작고 규정에 의하면 미니는 직경 15cm, 세미미니는 직경 20cm로 규정되어 있다. 무늬잎 종류도 있다.
-트레일종
-하나의 뿌리로부터 여러 개의 줄기가 나와 덩굴과 같이 길게 자라면서 처진다. 종류가 적고 전체적으로 크기가 작다 다른 종에 비해서 꽃이 많이 피는데 현애분(낭떠러지에서 자라는 모양으로 폭포모양으로 늘어 뜨리는 형)으로도 적당하다.
-아프리칸 바이올렛은 환경만 맞으면 언제라도 개화한다. 가온설비가 있다면 이상적이겠지만 아파트라면 가온설비가 없어도 겨울에 꽃을 즐길 수 있다
 ==Cultivation==