The garden pansy is a type of polychromatic large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section Melanium 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, V. tricolor var. hortensis DC. refers to a horticultural variety of wild pansy that had been illustrated in Flora Danica in 1777 before the existence of Viola × wittrockiana.
Pansy
Pansy Flower
Pansy displaying the two upper overlapping petals, the two side petals, and the single bottom petal
A bicolor pansy
Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae. It is the largest genus in the family, containing over 680 species. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, some are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes.
Viola (plant)
Opened seed capsule of Viola arvensis (field pansy, Melanium), showing the seeds
Viola canina
Viola biflora