n.
Any of the approximately 500 species of herbaceous plants or low shrubs that make up the genus Viola , which includes the small, solid-coloured violets and the larger-flowered, often multicoloured violas and pansies .
Many Viola species have two types of flowers: the showy spring flower is infertile; the less conspicuous summer flower is self-fertilizing. The best-known species of Viola have heart-shaped leaves. The popular florist's violets, consisting of several hybrids (many of them V. odorata ), are usually called sweet violets. The family Violaceae, to which Viola belongs, has members worldwide; they are typically small trees and shrubs that grow as low vegetation beneath the taller trees of forests. The so-called African violet belongs to the gesneriad family. See also dogtooth violet .