SPECIAL USES. Artificial light, dish gardens, model landscapes, terrariums.
Achimenes Gesneriaceae
A large group of utterly charming plants related to, and grown like, African violets—except that their scaly rhizomes (like minuscule pine cones) are completely dormant in winter. Most have velvet-soft leaves and all produce an overwhelming display of tubular flowers flaring wide-open at the end. None grow to great size. A single rhizome would probably be happy in a two-inch pot; several are usually planted together for a bigger show. The following are among the smallest varieties, upright unless otherwise noted.
‘Charm’—Luscious pink flowers, gold in the center.
coccinea coccinea—Trailer with notched, oval leaves and plentiful flowers of deepest scarlet, half the size of a dime.
‘François Cardinaux’—Flowers in two tones of blue.
‘Little Beauty’—Similar to ‘Charm,’ but in another glowing shade of pink.
‘Masterpiece’—Flowers royal, reddish purple.
‘Miniata’—Ruffled flowers in changeable violet tones.
‘Misera’—Many small white flowers spotted with drops of wine, yellow in the throat.