Streptocarpus hybrid (kentaniensis)

Photo by Ron Myhr
Grown at Dibley's Nurseries, Wales

S. kentaniensis is a compact small-flowered plant with very narrow leaves. It is not intrinsically particularly showy or desirable -- however, it does produce many flowers over a long period, and seems to bloom more readily under short-day conditions than most species. It is this winter-blooming habit that Lynn Dibley is attempting to capture by crossing it with showier cultivars. The plant shown here was selected for further work.  A subsequent result of this line of hybridizing was released as S. 'Crystal Ice'.