Adding to PlantFiles

I was wondering it if is possible to add a few more categories to the Foliage section of the PlantFiles. When adding African Violets there are so many very important details that I think could be added to better describe the Foliage of the African Violets, such as girl foliage, serrated, spooned or spoon shaped, wavy, heart shaped, quilted, red back, holly, pointed, etc. Is it possible to add these things to the PlantFiles check boxes under Foliage? Those listed are on almost every African Violet, not all but at least a couple, and I think it would be neat to include them.

Thanks,
Jesse

Jesse, I can set up a special foliage section just for the AV's. I just need to know exactly what needs to be included. It will also mean that all 1,000-plus existing AV cultivars will need to have the new section updated for each entry - hopefully there are some ready-and-willing AV growers who will pitch in to help ;o)

I will definitely pitch in and help Terry. Thank you so much for setting things up for the AVs. Let me go through some of the others and look at what all describles the foliage for the AVs and I will get you a list. Thanks so much for helping out with this.

Jesse

Terry,

I'm not sure how detailed that you want this but I have made a list of several different things that I see when I add African Violets to the PlantFiles. Here is what I have seen while I have been adding to the PF. The characteristics that I have found are: glossy or shiny which we already have, ruffled, plain, ovate, pointed, serrated, heart-shaped, quilted, spooned or spoon-shaped, (spooned is used more), girl foliage, red back (which is quite common), longifolia, pebbled, hairy or fuzzy, which we already have, and holly.

The following is something that might not need to be added but I thought I would include it in case you want to add it.

If you want to add leaf colors, they are usually: light green, medium green, dark green, and black-green.

If they are variegated, they are usually: green with cream, white, pink or yellow.

I was not sure how much detail that you wanted so I included the things that I see every day when I am adding to the PlantFiles. There are usually at least 4 different things describing the foliage. It is up to you how detailed that you want this but I think that every little bit helps. If anyone has any other things to describe the foliage, please jump in here and add to the list.

Thank you so much for helping with this Terry. And I don't mind going through all of the ones that have been done so far. I will go back through all of them and add the new characteristics. I really want the PlantFiles to contain as many of the African violets as possible. I will continue to add new ones and also work on updating the old ones with the new foliage characteristics.

Thanks so much,
Jesse

Jesse, is there a registration process for AV cultivars? If so, can you see how their leaf description section reads? That's one of the best ways to be sure we get the descriptors that most AV growers and hybridizers will be familiar with.

Terry

I'm not sure how the registration process works but I know that the information in First Class 2 is pretty accurate and that is where I have been getting my information from. I will look and see if I can find out anything about the registration process though. If not, I pretty much trust the information that I have been getting from First Class and I think that is the most accurate source. That information comes from the AVSA so I think it is pretty reliable.

I just did a bit of research and it seems like the best source for getting information about AVs is from First Class 2 which comes from the AVSA.

Thanks,
Jesse

Usually the registering societies have a registration form (in a word-document or .pdf format online) that contains all the specific details that the hybridizer/registrant must list out to identify their plant and differentiate it from all others.

Is that what "First Class 2" does? (sorry - I'm not an AV grower, so I'm not familiar with the orgs ;o)

First Class 2 is a database of over 15,000 African Violets. It comes directly from the African Violet Society of America and is very reliable. It is the best place to find out anything that you ever wanted to know on just about any AV that you can think of. I use it and the Optimara website when adding AVs to the PlantFiles. If you don't have First Class 2, I would highly recommend purchasing it.

Jesse

Gotcha. I'd say they probably know their AVs - leaves and all, then (*grin*)

So far, I'm seeing at least three sections:

Leaf Texture
glossy/shiny
hairy/fuzzy

Leaf Shape
ruffled
plain
ovate
pointed
serrated
heart-shaped
quilted
spooned
girl foliage
red back
longifolia
pebbled

holly

Leaf Color
light green
medium green
dark green
black-green
green and cream variegated
green and white variegated
green and pink variegated
green and yellow variegated

Breaking it down into different sections will help you search for many more combinations of color, shape and texture.

Are there any other changes to the AV details we should make at this time? (While we're at it, we might as well do everything that needs to be done to tailor their details to this plant's distinct characteristics.)

That looks really good Terry. That will really help a lot. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Jesse

Before I set these up, one quick question - are all these truly "leaf shape", or some other aspect of the foliage description?

I can break some or all of them out into another group - I just need to know what to call them.

girl foliage
red back
longifolia
pebbled
holly

I know that holly, girl foliage, and longifolia are all shapes. I think pebbled is a texture and I think that red back is a color but I will look them up to make sure.

Jesse

Terry,

I did some more research and found what all of the leaf types mean and I have a list of all of them. I am in the process of getting the list together and I'll post it soon with all of the information that I found. It is sort of what you were talking about earlier about how to register them. I did not know what all of them meant so I had to look them up myself. I can write up a document that explains what each one of them means if it would be helpful. I will post the list as soon as I get them all written up for you. Please let me know if you want me to type up a document explaining what all of them means.

Jesse

Terry,

Here is a list of all of the leaf types. I would list them all as leaf types except for the variegated and the red reverse or red back. I would list those two with the different leaf colors instead of with leaf types. This may be a lot more information than you wanted but it is here if you want to put it somewhere explaining how to use the PlantFiles when adding African Violets.

Bustleback: Leaf type. Also called compound, piggyback, wasp or bustle. Describes an African Violet leaf which has one or two small leaves attached to the back of it.

Crenate: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf with low, rounded teeth along the edge.

Girl Foliage: Describes an African Violet leaf with deeply scalloped edges, i.e., the edge forms a pattern of joined arcs or semi-circles. Often has a white or light yellow spot at the base of the leaf.

Glossy/Shiny: Describes an African Violet that is shiny or glossy.

Hairy/Fuzzy: Describes an African Violet that is hairy or fuzzy in texture.

Holly: Leaf type. Also called holly-type. Describes an African Violet leaf which curls up around the edge. The curls are discontinuous, giving the leaf the appearance of a holly leaf.

Longifolia: Leaf type. Also called spider or strap. Describes a pointed African Violet leaf that is very narrow.

Oak Leaf: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf which has slight indentations around the edge.

Ovate: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf which is ovate or oval-shaped. While sometimes called spooned, an ovate leaf does not necessarily have the concave feature associated with that leaf type.

Pebbled: Describes an African Violet leaf on which the raised areas feel like tiny little pebbles.

Plain: Leaf type. Sometimes called standard or boy-type, so named for Blue Boy, the hybrid from which this leaf type was first known. Describes an African Violet leaf which has no remarkable characteristics.

Quilted: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf on which the areas between the veins are raised, giving the leaf a puffy, distinctively quilted look.

Red Reverse: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf which has a reddish-purple underside. Also called red back.

Round: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf which is nearly circular in shape.

Ruffled: Leaf type. Also called curly, fluted, frilled, lacy, ruched, undulate or wavy. Describes an African Violet leaf with a ruffled edge. A tightly ruffled edge is often called curly or lacy. A loosely ruffled edge is often called undulate or wavy.

Scalloped: Leaf type. Sometimes called girl-type, so named for Blue Girl, the hybrid from which this leaf type was first developed. Describes an African Violet leaf with deeply scalloped edges, i.e., the edge forms a pattern of joined arcs or semi-circles. Often has a white or light yellow spot at the base of the leaf.

Serrated: Leaf type. Also called dentate or fringed. Describes an African Violet leaf with a serrated or saw-toothed edge.

Spooned: Leaf type. Also called cupped or cupped-up. Describes an African Violet leaf which has the characteristic of being concave, i.e., the edges turn up slightly to give the leaf a cupped or, especially on an ovate leaf, a "spooned" appearance.

Strawberry: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf which has a shiny, stippled surface, giving it a texture similar to that of a strawberry.

Supreme: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf which is very large and hairy.

Tailored: Leaf type. Describes a plain African Violet leaf on which the areas between the veins are slightly raised.

Trumpet: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf which is deeply spooned.

Truncate: Leaf type. Describes an African Violet leaf with a flat base.

Variegated: Leaf type. An African Violet leaf which exhibits two distinct colors (i.e., green and white) or two distinct tones of the same color (i.e., green and light green). Types of variegated leaves include champion, mosaic, Nancy Reagan and Tommie Lou. (You may not want to include this but I just put it here in case you want to.)

Champion Variegated: Leaf type. Describes the pattern of a variegated leaf where the lighter areas appear predominantly between the veins, while the veins and edge of the leaf remain green.

Mosaic Variegated: Leaf type. Also called Lillian Jarrett variegated. Describes a variegated African Violet leaf with an evenly mottled appearance.

Nancy Reagan Variegated: Leaf type. Describes the pattern of a variegated leaf where the lighter areas appear predominantly in the center of the leaves.

Tommie Lou Variegated: Leaf type. Describes a variegated African Violet leaf which is green along the midrib, but gradually changes to white at the edge. This leaf type was first introduced in 1959. Named for Tommie Louise Oden who first discovered it.

Velvet: Describes an African Violet with the touch or feel of velvet.

I think this just about covers it. Let me know if you need anything else.

Jesse



This message was edited Mar 11, 2007 12:49 AM

I also have one more thing to ask about. On the Optimara website, it says that propagation can be accomplished by a number of methods. African Violets can be propagated from seed, leaf cutting, peduncle cutting, tissue culture or by rooting a sucker. I can't seem to find any of these listed by themselves. They have from seed with a lot of stuff after it but not just from seed. Can these be added under propagation? Just seed, without anything after it and then the rest. I do see from leaf cutting which is what I always check but it would be neat if the other ones were listed so that we could make the PlantFiles more accurate. I guess what I'm asking is can the following be added under propagation? From seed, peduncle cutting, tissue culture and rooting a sucker. Thanks so much for all of your help. I really do appreciate it. I just want to make the PlantFiles as accurate and as helpful as possible. If I'm being to much of a bother, just let me know. I've kind of got the PlantFiles fever and have been adding so many and it has made me a little crazy. Thanks so much.

Jesse