''Streptocarpus afroviola'', synonym ''Saintpaulia pusilla'', is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), wi ...

, native to

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. It was first described in 1900 by

Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1930) was a German botanist. He is notable for his work on plant taxonomy and phytogeography, such as ''Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien'' (''The Natural Plant Families''), edited with ...

as ''Saintpaulia pusilla''. The former genus ''Saintpaulia'' was reduced to ''Streptocarpus'' sect. ''Saintpaulia'', 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 Dr Maarten Joost Maria Christenhusz (born 27 April 1976) is a Dutch botanist, natural historian and photographer. Career He was born in Enschede, the Netherlands, received his undergraduate and master's degrees from Utrecht University in ...

put forward the

replacement name In biological nomenclature, a ''nomen novum'' (Latin for "new name"), new replacement name (or replacement name, new substitute name, substitute name) is a scientific name that is created specifically to replace another scientific name, but only w ...

''Streptocarpus afroviola''.

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 Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

at elevations of .

References

{{taxonbar, from1=Q92444168, from2=Q17708578 afroviola Endemic flora of Tanzania Plants described in 1900 Flora of the Eastern Arc forests Taxa named by Maarten J. M. Christenhusz