Viola arvensis Murray - Wild Pansy
Family - Violaceae
Stems:
N/A
Leaves:
Inflorescence:
N/A
Flowers:
Calyx.
Flowering - March - June.
Habitat - Roadsides, railroads, disturbed sites, cultivated areas, waste ground, old homesites.
Origin - Native to Europe.
Other information - This attractive yet weedy little species can be found growing wild in just a couple of Alabama counties but will most likely spread with time. The plant can be identified by its small size (+/-20-30cm tall), yellow and white flowers, and leafy stipules. Another species, V. rafinesquii Greene is similar but is typically smaller, has blue to white flowers, and has lateral petals that are longer than the sepals.
Viola is the historical Latin name for this genus.
The species epithet arvensis derives from the Latin "arv" meaning "field" and "ens" meaning "belonging to".
Alabama Distribution:
Photographs taken in Brown Summit, NC., 3-14-03 and 4-5-03.