Violet is a group of plants known for their blue or purple flowers. The blossoms of violets are among the most attractive of all flowers. Violets grow throughout most of the world. They bloom in groups in early spring. Their leaves partly conceal the five-petaled flowers. Each flower grows on a slender stalk. There are hundreds of species (kinds). Most grow in temperate regions, which have hot summers and cool or cold winters. Others grow in tropical areas. The color of the flowers ranges from white and yellow in some varieties to blue and purple in others.
Violets with blue or purple flowers include the common blue violet and the bird’s-foot violet, whose blue and purple flowers often bloom twice a year, in spring and summer. The bird’s-foot violet received its name because its leaves are shaped like birds’ feet.
The dog violet is so called by the English because it lacks fragrance. The word dog is a term of contempt. It is different from dogtooth violet , which is not a true violet. The pansy is a cultivated kind of violet.
In the United States, the violet was chosen as the state flower of Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. In Canada, the purple violet is the provincial flower of New Brunswick.
See also Pansy .
