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denisd_31

African violet but not a Gesneriaceae !

denisd_31
18 years ago

Hi folks,

i found this picture on the net and i want to share with all violaphile :

Viola abyssinica

This pretty violet grows in Zimbabwe at lundu lodge in the Vumba mountains at 1600 meters height ( altitude )

Nathalie said me that she knows this violet already, but she thought it was a endemic of Madagascar island.

best regards

Denis

Image link:

Comments (12)

  • etii
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hello :-)

    Pretty sweet girl ;o) Thanks Denis :-)
    Well, I don't think that viola is a Madagascan endemic species. I have a penpal (emails) there and I've already asked him if he could find some seeds for me -a story of barter business ;-). Unfortunately, he ensured me viola abyssinica were only in Zimbabwe...It seems that only odorata (colonial heritage) is in Madagascar :-/ My Madagascan friend told me it wasn't making any seed: I suppose it's 'cause of tropical climate...however, I'm not sure is a good observer...

    Is someone having informations about viola (I mean true violets) living in Madagascar ? And by the way, is someone having and cultivating a tropical violet of any kind ?

    Take care :-)
    Thierry.

  • denisd_31
    Original Author
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This lovely Violet occurs in many African countries in the Eastern African mountains from Ethiopia to the Transvaal and Madagascar to. Let see the links below :
    http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxon.pl?430285
    and
    http://www.kew.org/efloras/namedetail.do?qry=namelist&flora=fz&taxon=499&nameid=1419

    Good luck in hunting the African realy Violet !

    Denis

  • nathalie
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fantastic discovery for me!! I've always been wondering if there were true violets "under" the sahara (and except madagascar)
    I am now wondering in which subsection of the genus Viola this one is classified? Does it fit all alone a complete subsection?? Anyone aware of that??
    :-)

  • Mike Hardman
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Natha -

    I am not sure exactly where V. abyssinica fits into the hierarchy, but I have some information on other species in sub-Saharan Africa, some of which are similar to it.

    V. cinerea var. stocksii occurs in Somalia and Socotra (and other places in Arabia-Pakistan); it used to be called V. stocksii. It looks (to me) similar to V. abyssinica, which is perhaps not surprising since the distributions of the two fit closely together (abyssinica in Ethiopia and adjacent areas, down to Madagascar as we know from Masashi's visit there in Feb 2002).

    V. eminii is also similar. It is sometimes given as a ssp. of V. abyssinica.
    Viola eminii R.E.Fr. in Act. Hort. Berg. viii. 6 (1925).

    In Zimbabwe there is a sprawling Viola species with tiny flowers. So Jane Browning (University of Natal Herbarium, South Africa) told me. This still sounds like V. abyssinnica or eminii, but it might possibly be something like V. serpens, from India.

    In South Africa there is V. decumbens.

    A comment from Robert Grant-Downton, 3feb97, in response to my email enquiring about Viola in East Africa and about his lecture "Plant Hunting in Kenya's Wild West" at St.Johns College, Oxford 12feb97, which I attended:
    "There are a few Viola species in East Africa, and in western Kenya they are quite common at higher altitudes. There are no exciting alpine developments in East Africa: unlike Lobelia and Dendrosenecio. We saw VV. abyssinica and eminii mostly in the high montane forest, bamboo zone and in moister grazed grasslands in the heath zone, where they are straggling, running, and sometimes weakly scrambling perennials. The flowers are relatively small and variable from pale whitish to deep violet and the leaves roundish. There is one species which is absolutely minute - I forget its name and have never seen it as I believe it does not occur in the areas I have botanised. The best references for Viola in eastern Africa are "Upland Kenya Wildflowers" (by the East African Wildlife Society, publ=Agnew & Agnew, 2nd edition, 1994) and the Violaceae volume of the "Flora of Tropical East Africa"

    More about V. cinerea:
    Viola cinerea Boiss. var. stocksii (Boiss.) Beck. [Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 36: 36 (1918)]
    Syns:
    - Viola etbaica Schweinf.; Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien. 8: (1868) 665
    - Viola nubica Hutchinson; Broun & R. E. Massey, Fl. Sudan, 66 (1929)
    - Viola somalensis Engl.; Abh. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. 1891 (1892) 308
    - Viola stocksii Boiss.; Fl. Orient. 1: 435 (1867)
    V. cinerea is sometimes mis-spelled V. cineria.
    Some of those synonyms occur in various books on the flora of East Africa.

    I have not looked at this, but it sounds interesting:
    Grey-Wilson, C. 1980. Notes on African Violaceae. Kew Bull. 36:125.

    And there is good info on V. abyssinica at http://www.kew.org/efloras/namedetail.do?flora=fz&taxon=499&nameid=1419. I was pleased to see Mt. Cameroon included as a location, because many years ago I read that Sir Richard Burton (the famous 19th century African explorer) noted a violet there (but he gave no more information about it). Now I know which species it was, probably.
    Burton also mentioned Viola in his book 'To the Gold Coast for Gold', which covers more countries than just modern Ghana. In chapter VI, 'The routine ascent of Mount Atlas, the 'Pike' of Tenerife': "We searched in vain for M. Broussonets white violet (V. teydensis), ... and for the lilac-coloured Viola cheiranthifolia, akin to V. decumbens."

    So much to learn ! :)
    Mike

  • Mike Hardman
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Denis -
    Thanks so much for that great photo - it is the first good one I've seen on that species :)
    Mike

  • nathalie
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Waow!! So much to learn yes! Thank you very much Mike for this update!!
    So "violet's world" pushes its limits everyday!! ( wonder if there's a meaning in english!! lol!lol!)
    Cheers
    Amicalement ;-)
    Natha

  • pbp_mnhn_fr
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I stumbled upon this discussion.... I am a botanist working mainly on plants from Madagascar, and I am trying to confirm whether or not the Malagasy Viola is in fact distinct from the African V. abyssinica, or whether it should be kept separate (the name V. emirnensis has been used....). To this end, any photographs anyone might have would be really useful. Any offers?

  • Mike Hardman
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Pete, and welcome.
    I have emailed Masashi Igari, a friend of this forum and very good photographer, who visited Madagascar in Feb 2002 and noted V. abyssinica. It is most probable that he has some photos and observations. I gave him your email address, but he might post here instead or as well.
    Mike

  • stefanb8
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Viola decumbens sounds quite interesting... here, for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure:

    http://fernkloof.com/articles/viola.pdf

    Stefan

  • Mike Hardman
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Stefan - that's a nice find - thanks :)

    Good to get an update on Kim, too - she is a super lady, so keen on violets (and iris amongst others) and photography - and her family. I was fortunate enough to have her stay with me when she was doing some violet hunting in my neck of the woods a few years back.

  • nathalie
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very interesting article Stefan!
    Do you know when it was written? Can't see a date on it...

    I am looking forward Kim's report about all of her violets discoveries...Any known publications about her works??

  • stefanb8
    18 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I can't see a date on it, either.

    You could try emailing at the address for the Hermanus Botanical Society on the page below and asking:

    http://fernkloof.com/join.mv

    Stefan

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