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| Metapetrocosmea tamiana - Gesneriad Convention 2023 |
Where are your Vietnamese Violets?
Vietnamese
Violets are new and a different category of houseplants.
Metapetrocosmea
tamiana is the first and only member of the group.
When and
where will there be more?
There are
two possibilities.
First, there are descriptions of 5 species in the genius Metapetrocosmea. M. tamiana is the only one in cultivation in
the United States. Attempts are being made
to establish the other rare species.
Hybrids among these species are unknown, but the potential is there.
Second, a newly introduced plant, Michaelmoelleria vietnamensis
qualifies as a Vietnamese Violet. The
plant grows like an African Violet and is native to South Vietnam. The leaf markings are variable so different clones
can be named. A project has been started
to select and purify distinctive clones.
There is potential for hybrids between Metapetrocosmea and
Primulina. If that is successful, many interesting
plants will join as Vietnamese Violets.
Vietnamese Violets are coming.
Another bonus is this is REALLY easy to grow!
ReplyDeleteI know. It's rare that a species, growing wild in Vietnam could be a perfect houseplant. The perfect plant for a new category of houseplant.
DeleteI recently ordered some seeds of Michaelmoelleria Vietnamensis from the Gesneriad Society. I planted them about a week ago. I’m just waiting for them to germinate. It is not widely available. But I do see pictures of it on various plant groups at least once per month.
ReplyDeleteI bought plants of Michaelmoelleria and learned that some clones have signs of virus and need to be thrown away. Also, by propagating from a leaf that the offspring are variable for variegation. By selecting for highly variegated clones, that may stabilize.
ReplyDeleteYour seedlings should be interesting. They will be variable for variegation. Hopefully offspring from seed breaks the virus chain.