Prairie violet | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
(unranked): | Angiosperms |
(unranked): | Eudicots |
(unranked): | Rosids |
Order: | Malpighiales |
Family: | Violaceae |
Genus: | Viola |
Species: | V. pedatifida |
Binomial name | |
Viola pedatifida G.Don |
Viola pedatifida (Prairie violet, Crow-foot violet, larkspur violet, purple prairie violet, coastal violet; syn. Viola pedatifida subsp. brittoniana (Pollard) L. E. McKinney, Viola pedatifida G. Don subsp. pedatifida,[1] Viola palmata L. var. pedatifida (G.Don) Cronquist[2]) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Violet family (Violaceae). It is 4-8in. (10–20 cm) tall with pale purple flowers and deeply divided leaves. Prairie violet is native to North America.[3]
The specific epithet pedatifida means "pedately-cleft" in botanical Latin, in reference to the leaves, which look like a bird's foot with the outer toes again parted. Prairie violet was described for science in 1831 by the Scottish botanist George Don (1798–1856)[4]