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The character 菫 denotes herbaceous plants, particularly violets and similar flowering flora, in classical Chinese botany. The grass radical 艹 at the top indicates its botanical meaning. The lower element 堇 is a phonetic component that historically depicted clay or a person but here only hints at the pronunciation. Although 菫 is rare as an independent character, 堇 frequently appears as a phonetic in other characters, so the visual form is quite common.
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