garden-pansies

Updated: July 23, 2025

These forms are so nearly allied to the heartsease that they have of late been made use of in crosses, in order to widen the range of variability of garden-pansies. Viola tricolor is a common European weed. It is widely dispersed and very abundant, growing in many localities in large numbers. It is an annual and ripens its seeds freely, and if opportunity is afforded, it multiplies rapidly.

Hugo de Vries - Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation

The European heartsease, from which our garden-pansies have been chiefly derived, will serve as an example. The garden-pansies are a hybrid race, won by crossing the Viola tricolor with the large flowered and bright yellow V. lutea. They combine, as everyone knows, in their wide range of varieties, the attributes of the latter with the peculiarities of the former species.

Hugo de Vries - Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation