Pansy

For other uses of the name, see Pansy (disambiguation).

Pansy
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Violaceae
Genus: Viola
Species:
V. × wittrockiana
Binomial name
Viola × wittrockiana
Gams ex Nauenb. & Buttler[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Viola hortensis hort. ex Steud.
  • Viola hortensis Wettst.
  • Viola × hortensis grandiflora Wittr.
  • Viola maxima hort. ex Domin
  • Viola tricolor var. hortensis Groenland & Rümpler
  • Viola tricolor maxima J.C.Clausen
  • Viola tricolor maxima nigra J.C.Clausen
  • Viola wittrockiana Gams

The garden pansy (Viola × wittrockiana) is a type of polychromatic large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower.[2] It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section Melanium ("the pansies")[3] of the genus Viola, particularly V. tricolor, a wildflower of Europe and western Asia known as heartsease. It is sometimes known as V. tricolor var. hortensis, but this scientific name is suspect. While V. tricolor var. hortensis Groenland & Rümpler is a synonym of Viola × wittrockiana,[1] V. tricolor var. hortensis DC. refers to a horticultural variety of wild pansy (V. tricolor without interspecific hybridization) that had been illustrated in Flora Danica in 1777[4][5] before the existence of Viola × wittrockiana.[1][6]

The chromosome number of Viola × wittrockiana is 2n = 44–52,[6] with most cultivars being 2n = 48.[7] The flower is 5 to 8 centimetres (2 to 3 in) in diameter and has two slightly overlapping upper petals, two side petals, and a single bottom petal with a slight beard emanating from the flower's center. These petals are usually white or yellow, purplish, or blue.[8] The plant may grow to 23 cm (9 in) in height, and prefers sun to varying degrees and well-draining soils.

  1. ^ a b c d Nauenburg, Johannes Dietrich; Buttler, Karl Peter (2007). "Validierung des Namens Viola wittrockiana" (PDF). Kochia. 2: 37–41. doi:10.21248/kochia.v2.22. S2CID 256124729.
  2. ^ "Viola × wittrockiana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  3. ^ Yockteng Jr, R.; Ballard, H.E.; Mansion, G.; Dajoz, I. & Nadot, S. (2003). "Relationships among pansies (Viola section Melanium) investigated using ITS and ISSR markers". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 241 (3–4): 153–170. Bibcode:2003PSyEv.241..153Y. doi:10.1007/s00606-003-0045-7. S2CID 25104565.
  4. ^ De Candolle, Augustin Pyramus (1824). Prodr. [A. P. de Candolle]. Vol. 1. Paris: Treuttel et Würtz. p. 303.
  5. ^ Otto Friedrich Müller, Otto Friedrich (1777). Flora Danica. Vol. 4. Copenhagen: Martin Hallager. p. 623.
  6. ^ a b Clausen, Jens Christian (1926). "Genetical and cytological investigations on Viola tricolor L. and V. arvensis Murr". Hereditas. 8 (1–2): 1–156. doi:10.1111/j.1601-5223.1926.tb03159.x. ISSN 1601-5223.
  7. ^ Du, Xiaohua; Wang, Mengye; Słomka, Aneta; Liu, Huichao (1 September 2018). "Karyologic and heterosis studies of the artificial inter- and intraspecific hybrids of Viola ×wittrockiana and Viola cornuta". HortScience. 53 (9): 1300–1305. doi:10.21273/HORTSCI13098-18. ISSN 0018-5345.
  8. ^ Diderot, Denis (15 April 2013). "Viola, pansy". Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert - Collaborative Translation Project. Retrieved 1 April 2015.