Japanese name: アカネスミレ（茜菫） Scientific name:Viola phalacrocarpa
[Overview]
A perennial 5–10 cm tall, common in hills, preferring sunny forest edges and roadsides.
The whole plant is very hairy, with short hairs on the leaves, flower stalks, spurs, sepals and fruits.
It has short underground stems.
The leaves at flowering time are 1–5 cm long and vary widely, being ovate, spoon-shaped or triangular, with low teeth on the leaf margin.
In some plants the underside of the leaf is tinged with purple.
The petiole is 3–10 cm long.
The leaves become larger in summer.
The flowers are borne at the tips of upright flower stalks; they are deep reddish purple and 1.5 cm across.
The bases of the lateral petals are hairy.
Behind the flower extends a spur 6–8 mm long.
The fruit is a capsule that splits into 3 when ripe and scatters the seeds.
