African violets are fairly new to cultivation having first been discovered in East Africa in the early years of the 20th century by Adalbert Emil Walter Redliffe le Tonnevy Von St Paul-Illaire, who was district governor of Usumbara in what was then Tanganika. He dispatched samples of the new plant he had found to his father in Germany, who realizing the importance of the discovery immediately took them to Herman Wendland, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Herrenhausen. Mr. Wendland, after studying the plant, named it Saintpauli ionantha. The genus name commemorates the discoverer while the species name means, literally, violet-like, hence the name of this popular plant.             

True Violet 'Becky' Cultivar C.W. Groves And Son Photo Copyright: Clive Groves © 2000 All Rights Reserved

African Violet 'Suncoast Paisley Print' Variety Photo Copyright: African Violet Society of America © 2000 All Rights Reserved

            In its native habitat, Saintpaulis grow between 50-300 feet, usually in rock crevices and fissures where there is decaying vegetable matter for them to root in. They enjoy a good amount of light but will not tolerate strong sunlight, preferring the shady position they are used to in their native environment

             African Violets fist became of interest to commercial growers in the 1930s.  A nursery company in Los Angeles became the first to grow plants on any scale.  However, of all the plants grown only a few were retained as being of interest and from the small number judged to be of merit they developed a large number of plants which were distributed to many other nurseries interested in the plant.

             It is the African Violet Society of America, founded in the middle of the 20th century that has done the most to promote interest in the African Violet, and it is to them that any enthusiast should turn for information and guidance. It is also worth noting that the African violet belongs to the family Gesneriaceae, a fairly large family of some 133 genera distributed throughout the tropical, sub-tropical and sometimes temperate regions of the world. It is a family of herbs, shrubs, with the occasional tree, and African Violets share this family with Gloxinias, Streptocarpus and Ramondas among others.

             True violets belong to the family Violaceae containing some 20 genera, and are members of the genus Viola. This genus is divided into a number of sections that split the 400-500 species within the genus into groups of plants with similar characteristics. The sections of interest to violet growers are:

             True violets have been around for centuries. It's said that the ancient Greeks cultivated them around 400-600 BC in specialist nurseries at Attica, outside the ancient city of Athens. The Romans also cultivated violets, and like the Greeks, used them for herbal remedies, to sweeten food, for religious and cultural festivals, and even made a wine from them called the 'Vinum Violatum'.

             Many cultures throughout history have grown and used violets for a number of uses. However, it was not until the 18th century that plant growers around the Paris area (France) concluded that the wild violets being collected from hedgerows and woodlands had potential commercial value. As a result, they took forms of the wild violet and deliberately planted them in cultivation. After careful selection of the resulting crosses a number of plants were developed and these were known as the 'Quatre saisons' violets. Along with the so-called 'Russian Violet' introduced in the latter part of the 19th century, these horticultural efforts did much to give us the violets we grow today.

             The violet was first and foremost developed as a commercial crop, that is, for cut flowers, perfumery and confectionery. Interest in the tiny flower grew to such an extent that nurseries started developing larger and better cultivars for the markets. Inevitably, some of these were grown in private gardens and as the interest grew, helped by the patronage of many royal households throughout Europe, it reached its zenith at the beginning of the First World War. After that time, the interest declined due to changing fashions. Fortunately and thanks to a small bunch of enthusiasts around the world, the violet has remained with us to the present day. We don't enjoy anything like the number of cultivars that were produced throughout the violet's history, however, of the hundred and some still remaining there is a steady trickle of new and re-discovered cultivars coming in to join the ranks.

             The main differences between African Violets and true violets are as follows:

            To please all enthusiasts I would suggest that both types of violets be grown: the true violets outdoors in the ground, in pots, frames or in the greenhouse and the African Violet, around the home. While it is possible to enjoy both plants, thereby having the best of both worlds, we should bear in mind that they are two different plants from completely different parts of the plant kingdom

             Pages with information on African Violets can be found at:  The African Violet Society of America at http://www.avsa.org/ and How to Grow African Violets at:  http://www.avsa.org/how_to_grow_african_violets.htm .  They have a "Photo Library" at: http://www.avsa.org/plants/ .  There is also a discussion of the differences in The AVS Talk About Violets Forum.  The pertinent discussion thread can be accessed via: This Link: http://www.americanvioletsociety.org/Talk_About_Violets/posts/198.html .