|
The "Akane-sumire" (Viola phalacrocarpa) belongs to Violaceae (the Viola family). It is a perennial herb that is native to Japan, the Korean Peninsula, China and Siberia. This herb grows in sunny wood edges and roadsides, and can reach 5-10 cm in height. The leaves are spatulate, long-deltoid or long-ovate, and usually pubescent. The bright magenta flowers bloom from April to May. It is devided that the spurs are elongate and the bases of lateral petals are covered thickly hairs. It is called "茜菫菜" (qian jin cai) in Chinese.
In Korean, it's called "teol-je-bi-kkot" (털제비꽃). This is a compound word made up of "hair" (teol: 털) and "violet" (chie-bi-kkot: 제비꽃), meaning "hairy violet". The name "violet" ((chie-bi-kkot) comes from the fact that the flower (kkot: 꽃) blooms around the time swallows (chie-bi: 제비) arrive, and because the shape of the flower resembles a swallow.
|