Viola reichenbachiana, also known as the early dog-violet, pale wood violet, slender wood violet, hedge violet, or wood dog violet, is a species of flowering plant in the Viola genus. This species hybridises with Viola riviniana, the common dog-violet, to produce Viola × bavarica. The plant is named after the 19th century botanist Ludwig Reichenbach. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial that is widely known for its purple petals, and it typically resides along road banks or among other rich vegetation, as other wild pansies do. The name dog violet refers to its lack of scent, making it supposedly only fit for dogs.
Viola reichenbachiana
Viola reichenbachiana - MHNT
Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach was a German botanist, ornithologist and illustrator. It was he who first requested Leopold Blaschka to make a set of glass marine invertebrate models for scientific education and museum showcasing, the successful commission giving rise to the creation of the Blaschkas' Glass sea creatures and, subsequently and indirectly, the more famous Glass Flowers.
Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach
Blaschka model of sea anemones
Blaschka model of jellyfish
Memorial to Ludwig Reichenbach at the Trinitatisfriedhof in Dresden