A collection of purple wild pansies growing on sand next to brown grass

Viola tricolor

Wild pansy

Family: Violaceae

Other common names: بنفسج ثلاثي اللون (Arabic), Üçrəng bənövşə (Azerbaijani), 三色堇 (Chinese Simplified, Traditional) violka trojbarevná (Czech), stedmoderblomst (Danish), driekleurig viooltje (Dutch), heartsease (English), käoorvik (Estonian), trílitt blákolla (Faroese), keto-orvokki (Finnish), pensée tricolore (French), wildes stiefmütterchen (German), Þrenningarfjóla (Icelandic), goirmín searraigh (Irish), viola del pensiero (Italian), サンシキスミレ (Japanese), 삼색제비꽃 (Korean), trispalvė našlaitė (Lithuanian), stemorsblom (Norwegian), fiołek trójbarwny (Polish), amor-perfeito (Portuguese), panseluţă sălbatică (Romanian), violeta persa (Spanish), styvmorsviol (Swedish), hercai menekşe (Turkish), Фіалка триколірна (Ukrainian)

IUCN Red List status: Least Concern

Plant description

The wild pansy is a small plant reaching up to 15cm tall on long, thin, branching stems. The leaves are oval or oblong shaped, with serrated edges. The purple flowers reach 2cm across, positioned on long growths from the stem called peduncles. They have five petals, which tend to be purple or blue, and can have an inner colour of yellow, white, blue, or a mixture of two of these.

Read the scientific profile for wild pansy

A large number of purple wild pansies growing in a grass field — Wild pansy (Viola tricolor), Frank Vincentz on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

A small leafy green sprout in sand — Wild pansy (Viola tricolor subsp) sprout, Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Large light blue wild pansies growing on white gravel — Wild pansy (Viola tricolor), Syrio on Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Plant uses

Cultural

In the language of flowers, which assigns feelings and emotions to specific blooms, wild pansies represent 'thought'.

Wild pansy is linked to love and romance in both Greek and Roman mythology, and are symbols of Eros, Cupid and Aphrodite.

Food and drink

Wild pansy flowers are edible, and are used in salads and as dessert decorations.

Health

Extracts from wild pansies have been used in traditional medicines, including Ayurvedic and Iranian traditional medicines, to treat a range of diseases including respiratory diseases, skin conditions and cardiovascular problems.

There have been several studies investigating if chemicals in wild pansy could be used in treating cancers.

Did you know?

The wild pansy is mentioned in two Shakespeare plays, The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, under the name love-in-idleness.

Where in the world?

A map of the world showing where wild pansy is native and introduced to

Native: Albania, Altay, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Rus, Corse, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Krym, Netherlands, North Caucasus, North European Russi, Northwest European R, Norway, Poland, Romania, South European Russi, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Ukraine, West Siberia, Yugoslavia

Introduced: Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arkansas, Assam, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil South, British Columbia, California, Chile Central, Chile South, Colombia, Colorado, Connecticut, Cuba, Delaware, District of Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Florida, Føroyar, Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Jamaica, Japan, Kansas, Kentucky, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, KwaZulu-Natal, Laos, Louisiana, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, N

Habitat:

Open grasslands, farmland, riverbanks, and floodplains.