| Persian Violet |
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 ntroduced |
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Botanical name: Exacum wightii Family: Gentianaceae (Gentian family)
Persian Violet, is a small herbaceous biennial plant native to the Island of Socotra, a Yemen archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Leaves are dark green, ovate to 1½ inches long. Plants with great age will reach 2 foot tall. They make a great houseplant and they are also used in landscaping as annuals. Seeds of the plant sown in mid-winter will bloom in the summer, and seeds sown in the fall will bloom in the spring. The small ½ inch (1 cm) bluish-lilac star-shaped flowers with deep yellow stamens are mildly fragrant. They are very showy. Exacum affine are propagated from cuttings or by seed. Cuttings are slow to root and therefore seed usually produces much better plants.
Identification credit: Vinaya Kumar