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Viola reichenbachiana
Also called Wood Dog Violet, European Early Dog Violet
Early dog-violet is a low, rhizomatous perennial wildflower of woodland edges and road banks, prized for its dull purple, scentless flowers. It is grown for its early spring blooms and does best in damp but well-drained, fertile, slightly acidic to neutral soil in partial shade.
Viola reichenbachiana, also known as the early dog-violet, pale wood violet, slender wood violet, hedge violet, or wood dog violet, is a species of flowering plant in the Viola genus. This species hybridises with Viola riviniana, the common dog-violet, to produce Viola × bavarica. The plant is named after the 19th-century botanist Ludwig Reichenbach. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial that is widely known for its purple petals, and it typically resides along road banks or among other rich vegetation, as other wild pansies do. The name dog violet refers to its lack of scent, making it supposedly only fit for dogs.
Viola reichenbachiana is found throughout central Europe spanning all the way to parts of Asia around the Himalayan Mountains. It resides in regions such as England, Scotland, Wales, North Africa, China, India, and Pakistan. Its natural habitats include hardwood forests or other wooded areas with broad leaves. It grows most successfully under maximum or partial sunlight and moderate watering, and the minimum temperature at which it can survive is -20 degrees Celsius. It thrives in acidic to neutral fertile soil that is damp but well-drained. They normally take approximately 3 years to reach maturity, and are grown mainly for the aesthetic of their distinct flowers. Its flowers typically bloom between late February and May, and its fruits are produced from May to August.
The plant faces predation by slugs, snails, red spider mites, gall midges, and aphids, and it is also the food source for fritillary butterfly larvae.
Viola abbreviata · Viola abyssinica · Hookedspur violet · White Violet · Viola angustifolia · Field Pansy · Australian Native Violet · Viola betonicifolia · Viola lutea subsp. calaminaria · Canadian white violet · Horned Pansy · Viola cotyledon
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Viola reichenbachiana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
