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Three-coloured flower: pansy
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PANSY (三色堇) is a favourite garden flower. It is one of the oldest cultivated flowering plants.
The markings of the petals make the blossoms look like faces. A bed of low-growing pansies--purple, blue, lilac, white, brown, orange, yellow--is sometimes used to give a garden border a brilliant accent of colour.
In the language of flowers, pansies stand for thoughtfulness. The word pansy is a corruption (讹误，不标准) of the French word pensee, meaning "thought". Old folk names for the wild, or field pansies are heartsease and love-in-idleness.
The wild pansy is native to cool parts of Europe but has been widely naturalized in North America. It is an annual or a short-lived perennial (多年生植物) that grows about six to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) tall. It has heart-shaped or rounded leaves at the base and oblong (长椭圆形) or oval (椭圆形) leaves growing from the stems.
The velvety (丝绒般的) flowers are about one to two inches (2.5 to five cm) across and have five petals. Four petals are in pairs; the fifth has a short spur (花刺). The plant grows best in rich soil in a damp, cool climate.
The garden pansy, also called ladies-delight or stepmother's flower, is a hybrid of the wild pansy. Its flowers are variously coloured, rounded in outline, and may be from two to five inches (five to 13 cm) across. With proper care the plants may persist and flower for a number of years.
（SD-Agencies）
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