I posted this under Anita thread but I think it's interesting History I felt a want to post it again !
Did you know blossoms of the first African violets had only five single petals, each one had an ovate ( rounded) tip. Theses are classified as single blossoms and are also sometimes referred to as "standard" or " tailoered" blossoms .
A slight variation of the shape of individual petals gave rise to a whole new type of blossom. When the petal tips became pointed , the blossoms took on the appearance of a five-pointed star, and became know as star-shaped blossoms !
Each of the petals are the same size and equally spaced, making this blossom even more distinct from single blossoms with its three larger and two smaller petals.
Later on down the road :)) othe African violet plants were developed which had ten petals instead of the normal five. It was not difficult to name this new group
of blossoms. Since there twice as many petals , the blossoms became know as double ! African violet with double blossoms are among the most beautiful plants in the world. Semidouble blossoms can easily be confused with double unless you examine the number of petals present on the blossom. If the petals number somewhere from six to nine , the blossom is a semidouble, Ten separate panels must be present for a blossom to fit into the double category !
Blossoms with irregularly shaped petal edges fit into two separate types- fringed and ruffled. When the edges of the petals are barely rippled, the petals are frindged. If they are extremly irregular, then the blossoms are ruffled !
Little bit of Blossom , Petal History !
Thinks for the tid bits of info. Nice to know.
This message was edited Feb 25, 2006 12:48 PM
along this same line...here are some pics...stats....first pics of leaf types....and than next pic will be description of type by matching the numbers
and here's the listing of each leaf...match the numbers
and here's how av's are judged in shows...
Excellent info to add Bob ! Thank you :))
found it in the 1982 sunset gardens how to raise av's.....you're most welcome..
Bob, that was a great picture of leaves. The one on the lower left sure is nice.
Allison, really neat stuff. I have seen a drawn picture of leaf types, but not the info to go along with it. : )
Thanks for posting this Allison! When I read your description in Anita's thread, I thought, wow, this needs a thread of its own so it's easy to find again!
Your welcome Jill. So often we mistake semi-double for doubles and stars for singles and so on . I enjoy all the information I can get :))
bumping up count your petals