Saintpaulia

African violets ( Saintpaulia ionantha hybrids )

The Saintpaulia is one of the smaller plant genus of the family of Gesneriad ( Gesneriaceae ). They are native to rain forests of the East African countries of Tanzania and Kenya. Many cultivated varieties, known as African violets are popular as houseplants.

• 5.1 Notes and references

Description

Vegetative characteristics

In Saintpaulia species and their varieties are perennial herbaceous plants of rosettigem (eg Saintpaulia ionantha, Saintpaulia rupicola ) or crawling (eg Saintpaulia inconspicua, goetzeana Saintpaulia, Saintpaulia ionantha subsp. Grotei, Saintpaulia ionantha subsp. Occidentalis) growth. The aboveground plant parts are hairy. The short, thick or creeping stems possess distinct internodes and may form at the nodes roots.

The opposite or alternate arranged leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The more or less fleshy leaf blades are circular to elliptical, hairy and furry.

Generative features

Armpit Constantly Blütenstandsschäften are in zymösen inflorescences one to several flowers. The bracts are small and elongated. It is a more or less long flower stalk, if present.

The hermaphrodite, five-fold, slightly zygomorphic flowers have a double perianth ( perianth ). The five lineal or lanceolate sepals are fused only at their base. The five petals are fused only very short tubular. The crown is two-lipped with a two-lobed upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip. The spread Kronlappen have a bald top, a hairy underside and ciliated margins. The color spectrum of the petals ranges depending on the species and variety from red to pink, purple and violet to blue or white. In wild forms only two stamens are fertile. The stocky, somewhat flattened and twisted stamens are inserted into the corolla tube. The robust, large dust bag are kidney-shaped and bright yellow. There are two to three staminodes present. In cultivated forms may be more fertile until all five stamens. The short conical ovary is hairy and tight; he abruptly steps into the pen. The left or right of the center of the crown located, stiff style ends in a small, capitate or slightly bilobed scar.

The fruit capsules are ovate to linear- cylindrical. The seeds are warty.

The chromosome numbers be 2n = 28 and forms of culture as 30 or 60

Occurrence

The eleven Saintpaulia species occur in rainforests in East Africa in northern Tanzania and southeastern Kenya prior to the diffusion of focus is in the Usambara and Uluguru mountains in northeastern Tanzania.

The locations are usually wet and shady and are depending on the nature of the lowlands, in the middle or in the high mountains. In most cases, the plants are growing on moist rocks ( Lithophytes ) in the shade of trees and along streams. Because of the extensive destruction of their habitats, all species are threatened to endangered.

System

The botanist Hermann Wendland placed the genus Saintpaulia, 1893 in Garden Flora, 42, 321, 1391 Panel with the type species Saintpaulia ionantha H.Wendl. on. He named it after the discoverer of the first kind, the German colonial officials in East Africa Walter von Saint Paul- Illaire ( 1860-1940 ). The first specimens were discovered in 1892 in the Usambara Mountains in present-day Tanzania.

The genus Saintpaulia belongs to the tribe Didymocarpeae within the " Didymocarpoiden " Gesneriaceae.

In the revision of Saintpaulia by Burtt (1958 ) he listed 19 species. After a few species have been rewritten so that the number of species increased to about 22. By combining molecular, morphological and ökolischer studies a reduction of the number of species found. Darbyshire (2006) accepted only six, Smith et al. (1998) nine species, and many of the traditional styles now apply in both publications as a sub-species of Saintpaulia ionantha. Elspeth M. Haston 2009 described two new species, so that a number of eleven species currently valid results.

The eleven valid Saintpaulia species are:

• Saintpaulia brevipilosa B.L. Burtt (Tanzania )
• Saintpaulia goetzeana Engler (Tanzania )
• Saintpaulia inconspicua B.L.Burtt (Tanzania )
• Saintpaulia ionantha H.Wendl. (Tanzania )
• Saintpaulia nitida B.L.Burtt (Tanzania )
• Saintpaulia pusilla Engler (Tanzania )
• Saintpaulia rupicola B.L.Burtt (Kenya )
• Saintpaulia shumensis B.L.Burtt (Tanzania )
• Saintpaulia teitensis B.L.Burtt (Kenya )
• Saintpaulia ulugurensis Haston (Tanzania )
• Saintpaulia watkinsii Haston (Tanzania )

Use

The hybrids of several species, African violets ( Saintpaulia ionantha hybrids ) are called, the world's most popular flowering houseplants. There many varieties have been bred with simple, filled or fringed flowers in many colors.

Swell

• Anton Weber & Laurence E. Skog: Saintpaulia in The Genera of Gesneriaceae: Comprehensive website of the family Gesneriaceae, 2nd edition, from 2007 worked continuously, Institute of Botany, University of Vienna, Austria & Department of Systematic Biology, Botany, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA. ( Section systematics and description)
• Jeff Smith: Saintpaulia: Taxonomy, Ecology and Distribution.