Streptocarpus afroviola, synonym Saintpaulia pusilla, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania.[1] It was first described in 1900 by Adolf Engler as Saintpaulia pusilla.[2] The former genus Saintpaulia was reduced to Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia,[3] and the species was moved to Streptocarpus. However, the name Streptocarpus pusillus had been used in 1883 for a different species, so Maarten J. M. Christenhusz put forward the replacement name Streptocarpus afroviola.[4]

Streptocarpus afroviola
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Gesneriaceae
Genus:	Streptocarpus
Section:	S. sect. Saintpaulia
Species:	S. afroviola
Binomial name
Streptocarpus afroviola Christenh.[1]
Synonyms[1]
Saintpaulia pusilla Engl.

Distribution and habitat

Streptocarpus afroviola is known from four mountain ranges in Tanzania: the Uluguru, Ukaguru, Nguru and Udzungwa mountains, although it has only been found in a single site on each of the Ukaguru and Nguru Mountains. It grows on shady rockfaces and moss-covered rocks in montane rainforest at elevations of 1,300–1,750 m (4,270–5,740 ft).[1]

References