African Violet Society of America

Last updated
African Violet Society of America
AbbreviationAVSA
FormationNovember 8, 1946;74 years ago (1946-11-08)
Type Horticultural society, 501 (c) (3) nonprofit
Purposethe culture of African violets
Location
PublicationAfrican Violet Magazine

The African Violet Society of America (AVSA) is an international society of plant enthusiasts who promote the cultivation of African violets (Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia species and cultivars) as house plants. The Society hosts an annual convention and publishes a bi-monthly full-color 64-page magazine, the African Violet Magazine. [1]

Contents

History

The African Violet Society of America Inc. was organized on November 8, 1946, and incorporated on June 30, 1947. Since then it has grown to be the largest society devoted to a single indoor plant in the world. It is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Objectives

The purposes of AVSA are:

Membership

AVSA membership, which includes both amateur and commercial growers, spans the globe. There are national groups in many countries of the world. The purposes of AVSA are carried out, in part, by a strong network of affiliate clubs, state and regional societies, councils of societies, and judges councils. The AVSA sponsors African violet shows staged at the AVSA conventions and by AVSA affiliates. In these shows, plants are merit-judged according to the appropriate AVSA scales of points by AVSA judges.

AVSA is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the former genus Saintpaulia (now Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia) and its cultivars. This registry is available to the public with the purchase of updatable software.

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Gesneriaceae Family of flowering plants including African violets

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<i>Streptocarpus ionanthus</i> Species of flowering plant

Streptocarpus ionanthus is a species of Streptocarpus in the section Saintpaulia, commonly known as an African violet. It is native to eastern and southwestern Tanzania.

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Streptocarpus ulugurensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania. It was first described in 2009 as Saintpaulia ulugurensis. The former genus Saintpaulia was reduced to Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia in 2015, and the species moved to Streptocarpus.

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