violet, common name for some members of the Violaceae, a family of chiefly perennial herbs (and sometimes shrubs, small trees, or climbers) found on all continents. Violets, including the genus Viola and similar related species, are popular as florists', garden, and wildflowers. Of this large group, with its fragrant blossoms ranging from deep purple to yellow or white, over 60 species are native to the United States and well over 100 varieties are offered in trade as ornamentals. Florists' violets are usually the sweet, or English, violet (V. odorata). Garden violets (often called violas) are generally hybrids and may be purple, blue, rose, yellow, white, or combinations of these, sometimes with double flowers. It became the flower of Athens; followers of Napoleon, who promised to return from Elba with violets in the spring, used the blossom as a badge; and in the United States a violet is the floral emblem of three states (New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin). The flavors of various species, particularly the sweet violet, have been used for perfume, dye, and medicine and have been candied. The common pansy was originally derived, long ago, from the Old World V. tricolor, one of several species called heartsease and Johnny-jump-up; the Eastern field pansy, a wildflower of North America, is a separate species. Some unrelated plants are also called violets, e.g., the African violet of the family Gesneriaceae (gesneria family) and the dog-toothed violet of the family Liliaceae (lily family). True violets are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Violales, family Violaceae.

dogtooth violet, originally a name for the Old World plant Erythronium denscanis, now applied also to several North American species of the same genus of the family Liliaceae (lily family). The most common is E. americanum, a lilylike yellow flower of the East and Middle West. Most of the other native species are Western. The names adder's-tongue and trout, fawn, snow, and glacier lily are also used interchangeably for the American species. Dogtooth violets (unrelated to the true violets) are sometimes cultivated as ornamentals. Dogtooth violet is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliatae, order Liliopsida, family Liliaceae.

Robinson, Joan Violet, 1903-83, British economist, b. Surrey, England. A socialist, she worked with Keynes and taught at Cambridge Univ. (1931-71). Her treatise, The Economics of Imperfect Competition (1933), analyzes the debates over monopolistic competition and microeconomic theory. Robinson was outspoken in her criticism of social and economic injustices against the developing nations; she came under fire from some Cambridge colleagues, particularly because of her criticism of neoclassical economic theory. Other works by Robinson include An Essay on Marxian Economics (1942), and The Accumulation of Capital (1956, 3d. ed. 1985).

African violet: see gesneria.

orig. Joan (Violet) Maurice

(born Oct. 31, 1903, Camberley, Surrey, Eng.—died Aug. 5, 1983, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) British economist. A professor at the University of Cambridge (1931–71), she helped develop Keynesian theory, establishing her reputation in 1933 with The Economics of Imperfect Competition, in which she analyzed distribution and allocation, dealing particularly with the concept of exploitation (see monopolistic competition). In the 1940s she began to incorporate aspects of Marxism into her work. Her unorthodox views and sympathy with noncapitalist systems—including China's, on which she wrote three books—involved her in controversy throughout her career.

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(born Feb. 10, 1927, Laurel, Miss., U.S.) U.S. soprano. She was trained at the Juilliard School. After her debut in a revival of Four Saints in Three Acts in 1952, she made her name in the international tour of Porgy and Bess (1953–55). She sang in Aïda at Milan's La Scala in 1960 and made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1961. Price was one of the Met's most popular stars for more than two decades and was the first African American singer to achieve an international reputation in opera. She gave her farewell performance of Aïda at the Met in 1985 but continued to give recitals.

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orig. Joan (Violet) Maurice

(born Oct. 31, 1903, Camberley, Surrey, Eng.—died Aug. 5, 1983, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) British economist. A professor at the University of Cambridge (1931–71), she helped develop Keynesian theory, establishing her reputation in 1933 with The Economics of Imperfect Competition, in which she analyzed distribution and allocation, dealing particularly with the concept of exploitation (see monopolistic competition). In the 1940s she began to incorporate aspects of Marxism into her work. Her unorthodox views and sympathy with noncapitalist systems—including China's, on which she wrote three books—involved her in controversy throughout her career.

Learn more about Robinson, Joan (Violet) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Any plant of the genus Saintpaulia, of the gesneriad family, especially S. ionantha. African violets are native to high elevations in tropical eastern Africa. They are small, hairy, usually stemless herbaceous plants with crowded, long-stalked leaves. The violet, white, or pink flowers bloom most of the year. They are popular houseplants, and hundreds of varieties have been developed, including half-sized miniatures.

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