The African violet was discovered by Walter Von St. Paul in Tanzania and sent samples and seeds home in the 18th century. When they got their botanical name it was Saint Paulia after the original man that found them. There are four classes of violets. Miniature=less than 6" in diameter, semi miniature= 6 to 8 inches, standard=8" to 16" and large=over 16". There are many different leaves and flower types, please check http://www.rosebudm.com/lavg/lavg-blossom_leaf_identification.htm for a nice picture of what the leaves and blossoms look like.
There are a few different growing styles of violets also: Trailers branch out with many new crowns and will continue to "branch" out with new foliage and blooms.
Our website has a page called "Dates Violets" Most of these were hybridized by Jimmy Date and what is unusual they have a 'wasp' type flower and some have bustle backs
One of the easiest ways to 'kill' your violet is by over watering. The violets like to be moist but not soggy and generally don't like totally dry. :) They need 10-12 hours of light. For soil we use a special mix of moss. We put down about 1/2 inch of perlite on the bottom of the tray then the soil mix.