''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 ...
of
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