Viola riviniana
| Viola riviniana | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Violaceae |
| Genus: | Viola |
| Species: | V. riviniana |
| Binomial name | |
| Viola riviniana Rchb. | |
Viola riviniana, the common dog-violet, is a species of the genus Viola native to Eurasia and Africa.[1] It is also called wood violet[1] and dog violet.[1] It is a perennial herb of woodland edges, grassland and shady hedge banks. It is found in all soils except acid or very wet.
It is a perennial, flowering from April to June.
Viola riviniana was voted the county flower of Lincolnshire in 2002, following a poll by the wild plant conservation charity Plantlife.[2]
Description
Its leaves are usually hairless.
Wildlife value
It is the food plant of the pearl bordered fritillary, small pearl-bordered fritillary, silver-washed fritillary and high brown fritillary butterflies.
Similar species
- sweet violet (Viola odorata) - fragrant; all the leaves are located at the base of the plant; stipules are gland-tipped.
- heath dog violet (Viola canina) - clear blue flowers; narrower leaves; smaller teeth on the stipules.
- marsh violet (Viola palustris) - found in wet places; leaves are kidney-shaped; grows from underground creeping stems; dark-veined flowers; stipules without teeth.
- alpine violet (Viola labradorica) - V. riviniana is sometimes sold by nurseries as V. labradorica.
Hybrids
This species hybridises with early dog-violet (V. reichenbachiana) to produce Viola × bavarica.
Further reading
- Partridge, James (2007) Viola × bavarica: the punctual Dog-violet BSBI News 106:8-9 (illustrated with colour photographs on inside back cover of this edition)
References
- 1 2 3 "USDA GRIN Taxonomy".
- ↑ Plantlife website County Flowers page
External links
Media related to Viola riviniana at Wikimedia Commons