Viola riviniana
| Viola riviniana | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Violaceae |
| Genus: | Viola |
| Species: | V. riviniana |
| Binomial name | |
| Viola riviniana |
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Viola riviniana, the Common Dog-violet, is a species of the genus Viola. It is also called wood violet or dog violet. It is a perennial herb of woodland rides, grassland and shady hedge banks. It is found in all soils except acid or very wet.
It is a perennial, which flowers from April to June.
Its leaves are heart shaped with rounded teeth and are usually hairless. It has 2 slender bracts, 6 sepals spear shaped lobed at the base, 5 overlapping petals with a backward pointing spur. Once the flower has been fertilised, the spur will split into 3 to reveal the egg shaped seeds - see Viola description.
Toothed stipules can be found at the base of the plant.
Viola riviniana was voted the County flower of Lincolnshire in 2002 following a poll by the wild plant conservation charity Plantlife.[1]
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[edit] Name
The name 'Dog' - probably suggests that this plant was thought to be inferior to the scented violet (viola odorata), which was particularly favoured during the Victorian Era.
[edit] Wildlife value
It is the foodplant of the Pearl bordered fritillary, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Silver-washed Fritillary and High Brown Fritillary butterfly.
[edit] Similar species
- Sweet Violet Viola odorata - sweetly scented and has all the leaves at the base of the plant, the stipules are gland tipped
- Heath Dog Violet Viola canina - has clear blue flowers, narrower leaves and smaller teeth on the stipules
- Marsh Violet Viola palustris - found in wet places, leaves are kidney shaped which come from underground creeping stems, and the flowers are dark-veined. The stipules have no teeth at all.
- Alpine Violet Viola labradorica - V. riviniana is sometimes sold by nurseries as V. labradorica.
Note that pansies are also of the Viola Genus.
[edit] Hybrids
This species hybridises with Early Dog-violet (V. reichenbachiana) to produce Viola × bavarica.
[edit] Cultural icon
Dog violets, and badges depicting them,[2][3] were sold in fund-raising efforts in the UK and Australia on and around Violet Day[4] in commemoration of the lost soldiers of World War I.
[edit] Further reading
[edit] Identification
- 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)
[edit] References
- ^ Plantlife website County Flowers page
- ^ NMA Collections Search National Museum of Australia (2003-2010) - Violet Day 1917 fundraising badge
- ^ Worthopedia WW1 1917 Violet Day Badge with image
- ^ Family History South Australia Leadbeater,B (2006). World War 1 Violet Day South Australia.
[edit] External links
Media related to Viola riviniana at Wikimedia Commons
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