(B) Section
Melanium
The Melanium section of the Viola
genus contains four (B1, B2, B3, B4) groups. All are
derived from hybridization processes, originating in an
ancestral parent ???V. need_this_data.
(B1)
Pansies
With its genetic roots firmly placed in V. tricolour,
the pansy has been developed by rigorous selection and cross
pollinating to the larger, rounded flower with
characteristic blotch. Even so the characteristics of its
diminutive ancestry are only too ready to come to the fore.
Before the early nineteenth century there had been no
attempt to improve on the species. But in less than twenty
five years, nurserymen were vying with each other to offer
ever more spectacular sorts. The florists took it up as a
flower that could be brought to perfection for the show
bench, while at the same time free from such artificial
restraints they were developed as a garden plant, a little
lax in habit. That has been improved upon, especially during
the twentieth century when colour ranges were also extended.
The Fancy Pansy and the Show Pansy both for exhibition, were
for a long time considered as the high point of the
hybridisers art. But these have suffered a steep decline in
popularity during the latter part of the twentieth century,
both sorts being on the verge of extinction. The pansy
remains one of the most popular garden plants for its
ability to produce blocks of colour early in the gardening
year.
(B1a)
Early Pansies
The pansy, developed before 1841, is identified by the fact that
the raying is still present in some form although some cultivars
display a thickening or consolidation of the rays, which
eventually developed into the familiar blotch.
(B1b)
Fancy Pansies
A
flower that is large, fresh, clean, circular in outline, with smooth, thick, velvety petals -- without serration--,
lying evenly on each other, either flat or slightly reflexed so
that the surface of the flower is still convex. The centre
petals must meet above the eye, reach well up on the top petals,
and a bottom petal sufficiently deep and broad to balance the
others. The blotch must be large and solid, rounded and well
defined. The cultivars in this section must be more than 63 mm
in diameter.
(B1c)
Show Pansies
A
flower that is between 38 – 50 mm in diameter, fresh and
clean, with the same form, build, texture and eye as a
Fancy Pansy. Bi-coloured flowers must have a ground colour,
throughout, of the same shade with circular, broad, of uniform
colour and well defined at the edges. The belting (margin) must
be uniform in width and exactly the same colour as the top
petals, that is, distinct from the ground colour. It should
also have a good-sized blotch --smaller than in the Fancy
Pansies--, dense, solid and approximately circular.
(B1d)
Bedding Pansies
The cultivars in
this section are usually commercial, seed-raised varieties.
(B2)
Violas
During the middle years of the nineteenth century a number
of horticulturalists attempted to improve the habit of
existing varieties of pansy, in order to produce a plant
with a better habit of growth and increased flower
production that would be more suitable for growing freely in
the garden. The most commonly used species was V. cornuta.
A good number of raisers did succeed in producing such
plants. It was noticeable that the flowers had a strong and
sweet scent, and were devoid of the blotch that was demanded
by the florists as a mark of the true Pansy. There was a
great attempt, noticeably by the likes of William Robinson,
to name the group Tufted Pansies, but this name would simply
not be taken up by the public, thus we had Violas. This name
has come to be the cause of much confusion, most noticeably
the old question what is the difference between a viola and
a pansy? The garden violas are almost totally devoid of the
consolidation of rays that form the blotch, although there
are a number of varieties that are on the borderline. There
are rayed varieties and non-rayed varieties, with a range of
colours and markings.
(B2a) Bedding Violas
A flower
that is clean, of good substance, circular or oval in form,
without any trace of a blotch, and with an eye that is well
defined, circular and bright yellow or orange
(B2a1)
Heirloom
Violas
Violas
that are NOT generally available from commercial suppliers,
but which are commonly found in historical collections or
which have escaped from cultivation.
(B2a2) Commercial
Viola Strains
Violas
that are generally available from commercial suppliers,
either as seed, or as ready grown plants, intended as annual
bedding varieties.
(B2b) Exhibition
Violas
A
flower that is of the form, build and texture outlined for Fancy
Pansies. While the colour may be selfs, striped, mottled,
suffused or belted (margined), there can be no semblance of a
blotch or rays. The eye must be bright, solid, circular and
well defined. The cultivars in this section are all over 65mm
in diameter.
(B3)
Violettas
Violettas are a miniature form of Viola with
sufficiently distinct attributes to set them apart as a
special type. They originated with Dr Charles Stuart in the
late nineteenth century, being the result of a breeding
programme that used V. cornuta as the seed parent and
a variety of violas as the pollen parents. After a number of
years he had produced a race of plants that were dwarf and
procumbent. The blooms were oval in shape, slightly wavy at
the edges and totally devoid of any rays. The flowers were
also noticeable for being highly fragrant. They continued to
be developed in the early twentieth century notably by D.B.
and H.H. Crane, however their popularity had waned
considerably by the later years of the century. A large
number of the varieties that remain available were raised by
the late R.G.Cawthorne
The petals
should be smooth and of good substance; the colour bright and
clear, and they may be striped, margined or bi-coloured. The
eye should be bright yellow or orange, and there should be no
semblance of rays or a blotch. The flower should have a
distinct fragrance, present an oval shape and measure no
more than 37.5mm and no less than 25mm in width. The habit
should be dwarf and pro-cumbent.
(B4)
Cornuta Hybrids
The species
V. cornuta, originated in the Pyrenees. V.
cornuta was used by hybridisers in the nineteenth
century because it so easily passed on its vigour and tufted
habit to its progeny. The petals are somewhat long and
angular and are freely borne on long stems. A good deal of
work was done, especially in the latter part of the
twentieth century to improve the range and depth of colour.
The late R.G. Cawthorne was the raiser of many of the
varieties that are currently in cultivation
These
cultivars are the result of crosses with V. cornuta and
other species within the section Melanium, producing the
distinctive ‘windmill’ shape of the flowers. With a
bushy growth habit they should resemble the species as much as
possible, allowing for variations in the blooms’ size and
colour.