Unfortunately, there really is no way of identifying a violet that came without a name. There are over 10000 varieties registered with AVSA, so many really are very much alike. Few, if any, are distinctive. If you know who the grower was you can contact them. Optimara produces many of the violets in the US and their site identifies their plants, but that's about the best that can be done. Enjoy your violet.

Mark

Mark, thanks for your reply. Wow, that site's rather daunting! Too bad I'm not trying to identify reptiles or birds -- now, those sites make it easy! I've put photos of the 3 new av's in the Gallery in hopes that others will see them and know what they might be. Or at least have a foggy notion and will chime in.

~ Robin

If you think identifying a violet is daunting, try orchids! One cross can have many different colors, shades of colors, and different shapes and sizes, but every one of them has the same name, like a family name, but each individual has its own clonal name.

One example from one of my orchids - here's the label:

Pot. Shin Shang Diamond 'Tai Young #1"

All of the crosses made with this plant's exact parents are Potinara Shin Shang Diamond. Potinara is the species name, in this case a man-made hybrid from two species. The name Shin Shang Diamond is the name that all from this cross have. The name 'Tai Young #1' is this particular plant. Trying to identify an individual plant if the tag is lost is virtually impossible!

There is a computer program called First Class Version 2 that you can purchase from the African Violet Society of America. Below is a link to ordering information. It has a search feature where you can bring up a list of plants with specific characteristics. However, with over 17,000 entries, you might get dozens or hundreds of matches, so you really can't identify a no-name plant from it. So many plants look alike, with only subtle differences. The program is a good one to have, though. There are official AV descriptions, lots of gorgeous photos, and you can keep your own records on it, print labels, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: First Class Version 2

Hi Donna, thanks for the link. It's now safely bookmarked in my Violets folder. I guess it just comes down to how much it bugs me that I don't know the name of 3 of my violets and if I can live with that. I'm thinking maybe I can at this point.... :0)

~ Robin