| Description | False African Violet (Streptocarpella saxorum) is a dual purpose tropical plant being used outdoors during the summer and grows contently with your African Violets in the winter. Avoid cold water on the leaves. This can spot the leaves. |
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| Pronunciation | (strep-toh-kar-PEL-uh)(SAKS-or-um) |
| Plant Type | Indoor Flowering Plants, Site author's observations, Tropical herbaceous plants |
| Hardiness Zone | 9-11 |
| Sunlight | I grow this plant outdoors where it gets morning sun. In direct sun it will burn. Indoors it likes the same light as African Violets such as an east exposure or bright light. |
| Moisture | Likes to be kept evenly moist. Avoid cold water on the leaves that can cause white blotches on the leaves. |
| Growing Media | well drained organic mix |
| Temperature | Being a tropical plant it is very frost sensitive. |
| Flowers | The flowers are found on long wiry scapes that originated at the nodes. They terminate in three to five flowers. The flower is a narrow tube, sprays out at the end, has five lobes and comes in purple to shades of blue. |
| Fruit | Produces a one inch long twisted seed pod. |
| Leaves | A freely branching plant with rather succulent velvety green leaves. |
| Roots | fibrous |
| Dimensions | A trailing plant that reaches 8 inches tall by 10 inch spread. |
| Maintenance | just plant clean up removing dead leaves, flowers, etc. |
| Propagation | tip cuttings |
| Native Site | Kenya and Tanzania growing on rocks and cliff faces |
| Cultivar Origin | Described in 1983 from material found on rocks by C. Holst. |
| Misc Facts | The name Streptocarpella means Streptocarpus like. Streptocarpus means "twisted fruit", a referring to the slender, twisted seed capsule that the plants produce. Streptocarpella produces a twisted seed pod. Saxorum means growing in and among rocks. South Africa |
| Author's Notes | This was always an easy to grow plant during the summer on the patio. Very florifice, just loaded with purple-blue flowers on the long wiry scapes. |
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