Parma violets belong to the more exotic branch of the

violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Vi ...

family. First appearing in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, in the 20th century, most types of parma violets have

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of perennial flowering plants in the sage family, Lamiaceae. It is native plant, native to the Old World, primarily found across the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean ...

flowers of varying sizes, which have an attractive fragrance. The origins of the parma violet are unknown, though they have been shown to be derived from two different '' Viola alba'' strains, and more closely resemble, in flower colour and odour, ''

Viola odorata ''Viola odorata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family ''Violaceae'' native to Eurasia. The small hardy herbaceous perennial is commonly known as wood violet, sweet violet, English violet, common violet, florist's violet, or garden viol ...

''. It was first imported into

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in the latter part of the 19th century, when took the plant to

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

. There are no records of his work, though it is widely believed that he deliberately crossbred to produce at least two varieties of parma. One of these is still available, whereas the other has been lost. Parma violets are widely believed to be

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis, a state of being free from biological contaminants * Sterile (archaeology), a sediment deposit which contains no evidence of human activity *Sterilization (microbiology), any process that eliminates or ...

, and there is much store laid by their reproduction through cuttings. , a French violet grower, proved this belief to be a myth, however, and with the right conditions any sturdy violet could well produce a

seed pod This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...

. '' Parma violet'' is a deepish shade of

descriptive of these flowers. The delicate purple flowers of the parma violet plant also give their name to a delicate, violet-scented sweet Parma Violets, manufactured by

Swizzels Matlow Swizzels Matlow Limited, branded as Swizzels, is a confectionery manufacturer based in New Mills, Derbyshire.Manchester Evening News 5 April 2012 Thursday Confectioners are making a lot of lolly Their highest selling brands are Love Hearts, P ...

References

Viola (plant) Ornamental plant cultivars {{Violaceae-stub