African violets are dicots. One of the implications of this is that the flower consist of 5 petals or multiples there of like 10,15 or 20 and so on. So why do I on occasion see six petal flowers? They are perfectly formed. After a number of years I seem to see a greater frequency of six petals chimera African violets with specific cultivars. Specifically Granger Sugar frost, Yachiyo Blue, Mauna Loa and on occasion in Shimai have demonstrated the six petals, some more frequent then others. Probably another that can be added to this list is Granger Red and White Stripe. One thing they all have in common is that the flower type is a “star form”. For detail as to flower types please refer to this informative link from the AVSA. Flower and leaf type
I have no answers to this question. The web seems to be yield no answers at all, but I will keep searching. Questions that immediately come to mind: 1) What is the frequency of the six petal bloom as a function of the number of five petal blooms? One in 100 or 1 in 200? There must be some ratio. 2) Is this only seen in the “star” type flower and devoid in the other flower types? 3) Maybe six petals are observed in all flower types but has different frequencies in different flower types? 4) Does it appear at different frequencies in different cultivars? 5) Is this a trait that can be selected for? I have questions and am looking for answers or observations.