Violet Family. "Small non-woody plants with long-stalked solitary flowers, similar to the garden Violets, Violas and Pansies, with 5 irregular petals, the lower ones spurred, blue-violet, yellow or white; sepals 5, unequal, with persistent appendages. Fruits roughly egg-shaped. Hybrids are frequent.

The Violets are all perennials, mostly with toothed heart-shaped leaves. As well as their showy spring flowers, they have inconspicuous petalless later ones which are the main seed-bearers. The Pansies are sometimes annuals, their leaves toothed and generally broad lanceolate, with very prominent leaf-like stipules at the base of their stalks; flowers flatter. The Water-Violet is quite different, and belongs in the Primrose family." from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978.

Violet Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Umbellifer to Violet Wild Flower Families Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Month Range

Habitat

Common Dog Violet

Viola riviniana

April-June and sometimes again in Autumn

This perennial herb occurs in a wide range of habitats, including open deciduous woodland, hedge banks and road verges, meadows, heaths, moorland, mountain grassland, rocky slopes and cliff ledges; it can become a serious weed in gardens. It avoids wet areas but is generally indifferent to soil type, shunning only the most acidic habitats. 0-1020 m (Stuchd an Lochain, Mid Perth).

Flower from Peak District in June

Flowers from Rochester in Kent in May

Foliage from Rochester in Kent

Form from Ivy Hatch in Kent on 28 April

Fen Violet

Viola stagnina

(Viola persicifolia)

May-June

A perennial herb found in Britain on damp peaty or clayey, base-rich soils in seasonally wet fens, and in Ireland on the margins of turloughs. It is a poor competitor, preferring areas subject to fluctuating water levels, cattle trampling or peat-digging. Seed is long-lived. Lowland.

Field Pansy

(European Field Pansy)

Viola arvensis

April onwards

Fields (arable fields)

Flower

Flower from Strood in Kent in May

Foliage

Form from North Yorkshire in June

Hairy Violet

Viola hirta

March-May, sometimes again in autumn

A perennial herb, occurring mainly on calcareous soils, and found in short grassland or open scrub on downland, rocky slopes, limestone pavement, woodland borders and rides, and sometimes on base-flushed but more acidic riverside substrates; also on roadsides and railway banks. Generally lowland, but reaching 610 m on Long Fell (Westmorland).

Flower March

Flowers from Halling in Kent on 13 March

Foliage from Halling in Kent on 13 March

Form from Halling in Kent on 13 March

Heartsease
(Wild Pansy, Three-color Violet)

Viola tricolor

April onwards

An annual or perennial herb, found on dunes and other sandy areas, on acidic grassland on heaths and hills, and in cultivated ground, gardens and waste places. 0-460 m (Clun Forest, Salop), and reportedly to 575 m in Scotland.

Flower from Burham in August

Flowers June

Foliage June

Form June

Heath Dog Violet

(Dog Violet)

Viola canina

April-June

A perennial herb of a variety of acid habitats, including heaths, coastal dunes, stony riversides and lake shores, especially in Scotland. It can also occur on thin, heavily leached substrates overlying chalk and (as subsp. montana) in fens.

Seeds

Seed Pods

Foliage

Form

Marsh Violet

Viola palustris

April-July

A perennial herb of bogs, wet heaths, marshes, Alnus and Salix carr and wet woods, especially on acidic soils where there is some flushing. It is frequently associated with Sphagnum, and is also found in non-calcareous dune-slacks. 0-1220 m (Ben Macdui, South Aberdeen).

Flower June

Flower June

Foliage June

Form June

Mountain Pansy

Viola lutea

May-August

A perennial herb of grazed grassland on hill-slopes and banks, and on rock ledges. Although usually found on calcareous rocks, it is a mild calcifuge, preferring leached soil but avoiding very acidic sites; it also grows on metalliferous soils. In W. Ireland it occurs on coastal dunes. Mainly upland, reaching 1050 m (Breadalbanes, Mid Perth).

Flower from Teesdale in June

Flower from Cauldon Low in Staffordshire on 19 May

Foliage from Cauldon Low in Staffordshire on 19 May

Form from Cauldon Low in Staffordshire on 19 May

Pale Heath Violet

Viola lactea

May-June
our latest Violet

Heathland, open habitats including patchy grassland, tracksides, areas kept open by grazing or rotational burning and other disturbed ground

Flower from Kynance Cove in Cornwall on 19 May

Flower from Kynance Cove in Cornwall on 19 May

Foliage from Kynance Cove in Cornwall on 19 May

Form from Kynance Cove in Cornwall on 19 May

Seaside Pansy

Viola curtisii

April onwards

Coastal Dune and Heath

Sweet Violet

(Sweet-scented Violet)

Viola odorata

March-May, sometimes again in autumn

A perennial herb, usually found on calcareous or other base-rich soils. Its habitats include open woodlands, hedge banks and scrub, and less frequently shady road and railway banks and verges. Alien populations are naturalised in churchyards and elsewhere. Reproduction is by seed and by rooting stolons. Lowland.

Flower March

Flower May

Foliage from Basted on 13 April

Form from Basted on 13 April

Teesdale Violet

Viola rupestris

May

This shy-flowering perennial occurs in exposed, dry, open limestone grassland, invariably on bare or eroded slopes or hummock-tops. From 140 m on Arnside (Westmorland) to 600 m on Long Fell (Westmorland).

Flower from Widdybank Fell in Teesdale on 31 May

Flower from Teesdale in June

Foliage from Widdybank Fell in June

Form from Widdybank Fell in Teesdale in June

Wood Dog Violet

(Early Dog Violet)

Viola reichenbachiana

March

This perennial herb is found in deciduous woodland and hedge banks, usually in moderately shaded situations but also in the open where it can sometimes persist following woodland clearance. It is most frequent on calcareous soils, being particularly common in woods over limestone and chalk or base-rich clays. Generally lowland, but formerly reaching 610 m as an alien in Mid Perthshire.

Flower April

Flowers

Foliage

Form June