What Is a Species Violet?

The species are the plants which grew wild in the region of modern Tanzania and Kenya. Some still exist in the wild, although much of their habitat has been cleared for agriculture. Early specimens were collected as early as 1884. But in 1892, Captain Baron Walter Saint Paul collected a plant naming it “das violette Usambara” (the Usambara violet). He shared either seeds or plants with his father in Germany who brought it to the attention of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Herrenhausen in Hanover, Germany. There the plant was placed in the Gesneriad family, and given the generic name of Saintpaulia. The specific species was named ionantha (with violet-like flowers.)

A number of additional African violet species were collected or described over the next 50 years including Saintpaulia goetzeana in 1900, Saintpaulia grotei in 1921 and Saintpaulia inconspicua in 1934.  B.L. Burtt organized the various species through two monographs in 1958 and 1964.  Eventually approximately 20 species and several varieties were described.  Some additional plants such as “House of Amani” and “Sigi Falls” were acknowledged, but not given species or variety status.  Burtt’s classifications of the species were often based on morphological differences such as leaf hairs and were often based on a single plant from a collection site.

Species violets are “found in the wild,” african violets. Many of the current hybrids originated from crosses between S. ionantha and S. confusa.

In current culture, species violets have their own classification at African violet shows. Any violet from the original 20-ish species can be shown in this category. Each type has its own unique features, and from trailers to rosettes, these delicately flowered plants are beautiful in their own right.

The current species designations are
(Str. = Streptocarpus):

Str. afroviola

Str. brevipilosus

Str. goetzeanus

Str. inconspicuus

Str. ionanthus

Str. nitidus

Str. shumensis

Str. teitensis

Str. ulugurensis

Str. watkinsii

The subspecies under Str. ionanthus are:

Subsp. grandifolius

Subsp. grotei

Subsp. ionanthus variety ionanthus

Subsp. ionanthus variety diplotrichus

Subsp. mafiensis

Subsp. occidentalis

Subsp. orbicularis

Subsp. pendulus

Subsp. rupicolus

Subsp. velutinus

Sources:

African Violet Society of America

the Gesneriad Reference Web