African violets are the most popular houseplants in America, period. Enduring symbols of friendship and faithfulness, African violets have seemingly been around forever. Many of us have nostalgic memories of the African violets that always grew on our grandmothers’ windowsills, charming us with their fuzzy leaves and their perky blooms in shades of blue, purple, and pink. In Grandmother’s day, there weren’t all that many varieties African violets to choose from. The first African violets were discovered in 1890 by Baron Walter von Saint Paul, a German explorer who found them growing in the crevices of rocks in East Africa, in what is now known as Tanzania.