PLANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION

The African Violet Society of America, Inc. (AVSA) is the authorized international agent for registration of the genus Saintpaulia (commonly known as the African violet). You may name and register a plant if it meets certain requirements:

  1. You are the hybridizer of the plant or the discoverer of the sport (mutation) of a plant, or you have written permission from the hybridizer or his/her heirs.
  2. You know the names of the parent plants used in the cross, or, in the case of a sport, the name of the plant from which the sport mutated. It is not necessary that the parents (or the origin of a sport) be registered themselves.
  3. You have reproduced the plant vegetatively (leaf cutting or, in the case of a chimera, sucker propagation) through at least three generations, and the offspring have reproduced true to the original plant.
  4. The name of the plant complies with the provisions set forth in the most recent edition of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants.

Certain steps are required for the registration process:

  1. Send an e-mail or letter to the Plant Registration Chairman, requesting registration application forms, and indicating the number of forms needed. (Extras will be sent.) The forms are printed on special archival, acid-free paper; therefore photocopies are not acceptable.
  2. Complete one form for each plant to be registered. Return the form(s) along with the proper application fee(s) to the Plant Registration Chairman.
  3. Once the application is received, the Plant Registration Committee will process it. If they have any questions, they will contact you. The committee reserves the right to reject the application if the plant does not meet the requirements set forth above.
  4. The name, description, and registration information are published in the "Registration Report" column in the African Violet Magazine, at which time the plant is officially registered. Also, the plant will be listed in the next published edition of the African Violet Master List of Species and Cultivars (AVML), and it will be added to the First Class computer program database.

PLEASE NOTE: In order to be listed in the AVML and First Class, the plant does not need to be registered. The hybridizer (or discoverer of a sport) can send the name and description of the plant to the AVML Chairman. Registration should be reserved for plants which are significantly different from any named cultivar.

RESERVATION OF NAMES

Reserving a name may be done when your seedling first blooms. Many times a hybridizer names a new cultivar, releases it, and may wait two years before deciding to register the seedling, only to find the name is not available. Name reservations are good for a two-year period. In order to reserve a name, send the name and $1.00 to the Plant Registration Chairman. It is not necessary to use a registration form to reserve a name — a letter giving the committee the name is sufficient.

The name will be checked for availability and to make sure it is in compliance with the rules of The International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. If the name is accepted, it will be placed in the reserved file with your name and the date it was received. This name reservation is good for a two-year period from the date received. If your reservation is about to expire, and you are not ready to register your plant, you may request an extension by paying $1.00 for one more two-year period.

REGISTERING A CULTIVAR – FEE IS $5.00

You may subtract the $1.00 paid for the name reservation if you have previously reserved the name, and the reservation period has not lapsed .

Upon receiving the application for registration, read through it and fill in all the areas pertaining to your cultivar. Type or print in black ink. PLEASE DO NOT USE PENCIL, as these are permanent records. Do not fill in registration number, date received and date published; these will be filled in by the Registrar. All names will be checked by the committee for compliance and availability.

  1. If you have made the cross for this new cultivar, you are the hybridizer. Applicants need written permission from the hybridizer to register any cultivar for which they have not made the crosses.
  2. Remember, in order to register a cultivar you need to take it through three or more generations. Your new cultivar should reproduce true at least 95% of the time.
  3. Cultivars from seeds for which the parentage is unknown may not be registered.
  4. Give a complete blossom and foliage description. Do not give a flowery, exaggerated description. Keep it short and concise, but complete.
  5. Plants or leaves of your plants must be available to the general public, either by gift or by sale, if you wish to register this plant.
  6. Date and sign the application, and be sure to include your check or money order, made payable in U.S. funds to AVSA. DO NOT SEND CASH. The application should be signed with your full name — not initials and not the name of a business.
  7. If a living person's name is being used as a cultivar name, a letter of permission from that person (or heirs) must accompany the name reservation or registration application. Written permission is also necessary before using the name of any famous person, copyright, or trademark (e.g. musical group, cartoon character, etc.).
  8. REGISTRATIONS DO NOT BECOME VALID UNTIL PUBLISHED IN THE AVM.

The publication deadline for this committee is three months before publication of each AVM (October 1 for January AVM, etc.) Registrations must be received no later than 5 days before our deadline, or they will be held until the next publication date.

CULTIVAR NAMES TO BE AVOIDED

  • Names likely to be confused with already existing named cultivars or those closely related (e.g., ‘Raspberry Fizz’ is a registered cultivar. ‘Razzberry Fizz’ is unacceptable.)
  • Excessively long names or phrases — the name is limited to 10 syllables and 30 characters (excluding spaces) overall.
  • Any name with any of the following words: variety, form, cross, hybrid, group, mutant, seedling, sport, strain, improved.
  • Any punctuation mark other than apostrophe, comma, single exclamation point, hyphen, or period.

Plant Registration Chairman:

Janice Bruns
1220 Stratford Lane
Hanover Park, IL 60133-2667
E-mail janice@qwip.net

AVML Chairman:

Joe Bruns
1220 Stratford Lane
Hanover Park, IL 609133-2667
E-mail jbruns@qwip.net


Revised December 2004