Pansies - The Flower Kind

[gitano]

So, the volunteer pansies are still 'hard at it', even though snowfall is days away.

As I was walking around the yard with Henry, I noticed that while everything else was essentially "dead for winter", the pansies, (volunteers from previous years' commercially produced plants), were still going gangbusters! I was initially struck by the variety of 'macro' colors. Pansies, when you buy them, are quite monochromatic on a whole-flower basis. All yellow, or all blue, or all a couple of colors, but ALL of the flowers would be the same. However, these volunteers have been hybridizing for a few years, and the result is a veritable laboratory for a Genetics 101 class! Furthermore, as I looked more closely at them, I noticed some clear 'grouping' similarities and differences. I encourage you to look closely at these and note the similarities and differences in color patterns. I did edit the BACKGROUND for contrast, but the flowers are 'au natural' with respect to color. I'll number the pictures for reference in follow-up posts.
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Paul