 A yellow viola, "Viola lutea", and a wide-petalled pale yellow species of Russian origin, "Viola altaica" were among the crosses that laid the foundation for the new hybrids classed as "Viola" × "wittrockiana", named for the Swedish botanist Veit Brecher Wittrock (1839–1914).A round flower of overlapping petals was the aim of some early experimenters; in the late 1830s a chance sport that no longer had narrow nectar guides of dark color on the petals but a broad dark blotch on the petals (which came to be called the "face"), was found.It was developed in Gambier's garden and released to the public in 1839 with the name "Medora".