Wikimedia Commons
Violaceae
Wild Pansy
Viola tricolor
loving thoughts.
- Family
- Violaceae
- Genus
- Viola
- Native to
- Europe, western Asia
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer, Autumn
- Type
- annual
- Height
- 0.25-0.5 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- well-drained, moderately fertile
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 4-8
- Lifespan
- annual
Did you know
- Wild pansy is the ancestor of all modern garden pansies — breeders in early 19th-century England crossed it with Viola lutea and other species to create the large-flowered pansies sold today.
- Shakespeare called it 'heartsease' and 'love-in-idleness' — Oberon uses its juice to enchant Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
- The three-colored petals (purple, yellow, white) inspired its species name tricolor and have symbolized the Trinity in Christian iconography.
- Wild pansy has been used in herbalism for centuries to treat skin conditions — its saponins and flavonoids have measurable anti-inflammatory activity.
- Each flower has a nectar guide pattern — dark lines radiating from the center — that is only visible in ultraviolet light, guiding bees that can see UV.
Color meanings
0
loving thoughts
1
remembrance
2
free-spirited love