The African violet, Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia ionantha encompasses countless cultivars ranging from miniatures, that can be very useful in the terrarium and vivarium to standards that would only work in the very largest enclosures. There are also a few species available that can be useful.
I am giving these plants their own section, because they are also wonderful houseplants, and probably enjoyed more often that way. But I use them often enough in my vivariums that I still wanted to include them on this website. Obviously I will only barely scratch the surface of the many cultivars available, and that doesn’t even touch the countless “NOID’s” (unidentified cultivar) that are still very lovely, and very inexpensive, that can be picked up at any big box or grocery store. The two in my BiOrb, above, are just little “grocery store” miniatures, but they have been a delight in there, blooming over and over again! So do not turn your nose up at these inexpensive beauties just because they are unnamed!
The plants listed below are those named cultivars in my own collection.
DS Shining Blue Bell
A stunning standard chimera. In cool temperatures, the blooms develop a white eye.
DS Pinka
Standard chimera
Dew’s Comet Trail
Standard chimera
Da Vinci
Large standard bicolor 'Da Vinci' 1995 Holtkamp (Optimara)
Revised in 2001 - ASVA # 8319
DN New Star
Standard - The size the blue eye changes in different growing conditions.
Rhapsody Angelica
From Jordan’s Jungle. Appears to be different from Optimara’s ‘‘Rhapsodie Angelica”
Rob’s Vanilla Trail
Semi-miniature trailer
Lituanika
Description from Plantaria website: “Very popular retro variety created by Lithuanian hybridizer Fatina Bütiené. It blooms with rather big (up to 5 cm / 2”) super-double soft pink dahlia-shaped flowers with elongated petals and dark-pink tips. Elongated serrated plane pointed leaves. Semi-miniature trailer. It can be also grown in bigger pots as a small standard with 1 rosette or a standard trailer with several rosettes.”