Violet’s associate, that nice fellow Ian (7)

I believe the answer is:

gentian

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'violet's associate that nice' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'fellow ian' is the wordplay.
'fellow' becomes 'gent' (I've seen this before**).
'gent'+'ian'='GENTIAN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for gentian that I've seen before include "Small deep blue flower" , "Antigen in vivid blue flower" , "Flower - antigen (anag)" , "Violet's partner" , "Blue, violet alpine plant" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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