Kingdom Plantae Family Gesneriaceae Rank Species | Order Lamiales Genus Saintpaulia | |
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Similar Saintpaulia teitensis, Saintpaulia shumensis, Viola altaica, African violet, Sarcococca confusa | ||
Saintpaulia goetzeana is a subspecies of Saintpaulia, commonly known as African violet. The African violet is a small, flowering plant that is used widely in home horticulture. S. goetzeana was first collected in 1898 by W. Goetze, and it was later described as a species by Engler in 1900.
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Characteristics
Saintpaulia goetzeana has stems of about 40cm in length with leaves of 1.6-3.8cm long and 1.4-3.6cm wide. The flower is unique to the goetzeana species. It has five petals, where the top two are violet and the bottom three are white.
Distribution
Saintpaulias are native to eastern tropical Africa. There is a concentration of species in the Nguru mountains of Tanzania. This particular subspecies is only found at the higher elevations of 1300-2000 meters.
Cultivation
Saintpaulia goetzeana is very hard to cultivate due to the narrow conditions it needs to grow, such as mossy rock surfaces in deep shade. These conditions are hard to reproduce, making cultivation difficult.