''Streptocarpus afroviola'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Saintpaulia pusilla'', is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the family

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family (biology), 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 Ges ...

, native to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. 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 K ...

as ''Saintpaulia pusilla''. The former genus ''Saintpaulia'' was reduced to ''Streptocarpus'' sect. ''Saintpaulia'', and the species was moved to ''

Streptocarpus ''Streptocarpus'' ("twisted fruit" from Greek στρεπτός (''streptos'') "twisted" and καρπός (''karpos'') "fruit") is an Afrotropics, Afrotropical genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. The genus is native to Afromont ...

''. However, the name ''Streptocarpus pusillus'' had been used in 1883 for a different species, so Maarten J. M. Christenhusz put forward the

replacement name In biological nomenclature, a ''nomen novum'' (Latin for "new name"), replacement name (or new replacement name, new substitute name, substitute name) is a replacement scientific name that is created when technical, nomenclatural reasons have mad ...

''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 fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

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