Viola arcuata

Family	Violaceae
Subfamily	Violoideae
Tribe	Violeae
Scientific name	Viola arcuata Blume
Synonyms	Viola alata Burgersdijk; Viola alata Burgersdijk subsp. verecunda (A. Gray) W. Becker; Viola amurica W. Becker; Viola arcuata Blume forma radicans (Makino) Nakai; Viola arcuata Blume var. verecunda (A. Gray) Nakai; Viola carlesii Nakai; Viola distans Wallich; Viola excisa Hance; Viola fibrillosa W. Becker; Viola hupeiana W. Becker; Viola japonica auct., non Langsdorf; Viola verecunda A. Gray; Viola verecunda A. Gray forma hensoaensis Kudo & Sasaki; Viola verecunda A. Gray forma radicans Makino; Viola verecunda A. Gray var. semilunaris Maximowicz
Common name	(Japanese common name) tubo-sumire (ツボスミレ, 壷菫 [meaning: inkpot viola]): tubo-sumire (ツボスミレ, 坪菫 [meaning: garden viola]), nyoi-sumire (ニョイスミレ, 如意菫 [meaning: nyoi viola (nyoi = a sacred tool used by Buddhist)])
	(English common name) none
Distribution	(Japan) Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu
	(Other nations) Russia, Korea, China, Taiwan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, India
Habitat	Wet field, forest edge, streamside
Chromosomal number	2n=24
Description	Plants 5-30cm tall. Leaves 7-20mm long, 20-40mm wide. Flowers white 8-10mm across, flowering in April to June. Perennial plants.
Reference	Viola verecunda A. Gray
	Viola arcuata Blume
	Skin lightening composition (US Patent 20060142382)
	Skin lightening composition (European Patent EP1586315)

April 2007 at Tsukuba Botanical Garden	April 2007 at Tsukuba Botanical Garden	April 2007 at Tsukuba Botanical Garden

April 2007 at Institute for Nature Study	April 2007 at Institute for Nature Study	April 2007 at Institute for Nature Study

May 2007 at Mt. Tsukuba	May 2007 at Mt. Tsukuba	May 2007 at Mt. Tsukuba