| Viola hirta | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Violaceae |
| Genus: | Viola |
| Species: | V. hirta |
| Binomial name | |
| Viola hirta Linnaeus |
|
Viola hirta is a species of the plant genus Viola. It is also called Hairy violet. As with the Sweet Violet no fossil seeds of this species have been found. It is confined to the cold Temperate Zone, in Europe, N. and W. Asia, extending as far as N.-W. India. It is absent in Wales from Brecon and Radnor, Pembroke, Cardigan, Merioneth, and from Mid Lancs, and the Isle of Man, but elsewhere it is universal. In Scotland it does not occur in Roxburgh, Berwick, Haddington, Edinburgh, Fife, Forfar, Kincardine. From Forfar it ranges to the south of England, and is found at a height of 1000 ft. in Yorks. it occurs also in Ireland.
The Hairy Violet is found on dry banks, and in woods, in hilly country as a rule, being addicted more especially to drier conditions than the Sweet Violet, which thrives best in the shade, but this species may also be found in damper stations in woods in low-lying situations. There is less likelihood of this species being spread artificially, and it has a less wide range.
The habit is prostrate like that of the Sweet Violet, which also has no erect stem, the leaves arising from the rootstock directly. The leaves are likewise heart-shaped, but in this case the stoles or trailing stems with buds are absent or very short, and the bracts are below the middle of the flower-stalk. Moreover, the whole plant is hairy, or roughly hairy, giving it a greyer, less green, appearance when dry.