Scientific name: Viola canina L.
Common name: Heath Dog-violet
Description
Habit: Perennial, to 30 cm high.
Stems: Erect, branched, leafy; rhizome short or absent.
Leaves: Alternate, stalked, with stipules, undivided, broadly oval, truncate or cordate at base; basal leaves few.
Flowers: Blue to purple, zygomorphic, hermaphrodite, solitary on erect flower stalks, axillary or arising from basal rosette; sepals 5, free, equal, with short extension below the insertion; petals 5, free, unequal, the lower petal with a backwards directed yellow spur that encloses nectar-secreting spurs of 2 lower stamens; stamens 5; ovary 1-celled, style 1.
Fruits: A capsule, with numerous seeds.
Habitat: Stony heaths and lake-shores, edges of turloughs and fens, often found near water but sometimes on dry ground. Distribution: Widespread but local.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No