Common Dog Violet Viola riviniana
 
Family – Violaceae, Violet family
Small, tufted perennial – up to 10 cm tall, 10cm spread
Flowering – March to April
Soils -  Neutral to alkaline
Position – Full sun or partial shade, preferably on moist but well-drained banks or slopes.
 
 
 
 
 
This is a common violet species, more abundant in the wild than the sweet violet V. odorata and often found on woodland banks and beside woodland rides, especially in open or coppiced woodland. It can be distinguished from V. odorata by its flowers which are not scented and more blue than purple, its leaves (not rounded nor hairy, usually glossy and slightly pointed) and its habit (growing in individual tufts, not producing runners). It is distributed throughout Britain and Ireland1. and was first recorded botanically in Britain by Thomas Johnson in 16322. . There is a closely related species with a similar distribution called the early dog violet (V.  reichenbachiana)3. . Confusingly, the much less common pale dog violet is called Viola canina - or dog violet in Latin.
 
The ‘dog’ epithet was intended to signify that this is of less worth than the Sweet Violet as it is unscented. Other traditional names were ‘Horse Violet’, ‘Pig Violet’ and ‘Snake violet’. There were also several traditional names alluding to a supposed resemblance to a shoe4. . It is nevertheless an attractive plant, and sometimes naturalises in sparse lawns or gravelly paths. You can obtain this species from specialist suppliers of native wild flowers.
 
Our comments about the pollination and seed distribution mechanisms in V. odorata also apply to this species.
Leaves of V. riviniana and V. reichenbachiana are the obligate food plant of caterpillars of the rare and threatened pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly Boloria euphrosyne and the somewhat more common small pearl-bordered fritillary B. selene. The caterpillars of several other species of fritillary butterflies also feed on Viola species5. .  One reason for the fall in abundance of the several fritillary species in Britain is thought to be the long-term decline in the practice of coppicing hazel woods, allowing tree cover to grow up and shade out the ground flora6. .  Richard Mabey described how there was a forty-fold increase in the number of flowers of the early dog violet in a Cambridgeshire wood after coppicing7. . 
 
Dog violets are used as a food plant by the caterpillars of the Clouded Buff moth Diacrisia sannio, but only 3 species of other wildlife butterflies and moths8. .
 
References
 
1.  Stace, C. 2010  New Flora of the British Isles, Third Edition. P. 333.
 
2.  Pearman, D. (2017). The Discovery of the Native Flora of Britain and Ireland, Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland. P424 
 
3.  Stace, C. 2010  New Flora of the British Isles, Third Edition. P. 334.
 
4. Grigson, G. 1995. An Englishman’s Flora. P. 71.
 
5. Crafer, T. 2005. Foodplant list for the Caterpillars of Britain’s Butterflies and Larger Moths.
 
6. UK Butterflies website  accessed 5 April 2023.
 
7. Mabey, R. 1996. Flora Britannica. P. 127.
 
8. See the Biological Record Centre database  
 
 
Page written by Marc Carlton.  Compiled by Steve Head
 
Common Dog Violet Viola riviniana
 
Family – Violaceae, Violet family
Small, tufted perennial – up to 10 cm tall, 10cm spread
Flowering – March to April
Soils -  Neutral to alkaline
Position – Full sun or partial shade, preferably on moist but well-drained banks or slopes.
 
 
 
 
 
This is a common violet species, more abundant in the wild than the sweet violet V. odorata and often found on woodland banks and beside woodland rides, especially in open or coppiced woodland. It can be distinguished from V. odorata by its flowers which are not scented and more blue than purple, its leaves (not rounded nor hairy, usually glossy and slightly pointed) and its habit (growing in individual tufts, not producing runners). It is distributed throughout Britain and Ireland1. and was first recorded botanically in Britain by Thomas Johnson in 16322. . There is a closely related species with a similar distribution called the early dog violet (V.  reichenbachiana)3. . Confusingly, the much less common pale dog violet is called Viola canina - or dog violet in Latin.
 
The ‘dog’ epithet was intended to signify that this is of less worth than the Sweet Violet as it is unscented. Other traditional names were ‘Horse Violet’, ‘Pig Violet’ and ‘Snake violet’. There were also several traditional names alluding to a supposed resemblance to a shoe4. . It is nevertheless an attractive plant, and sometimes naturalises in sparse lawns or gravelly paths. You can obtain this species from specialist suppliers of native wild flowers.
 
Our comments about the pollination and seed distribution mechanisms in V. odorata also apply to this species.
Leaves of V. riviniana and V. reichenbachiana are the obligate food plant of caterpillars of the rare and threatened pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly Boloria euphrosyne and the somewhat more common small pearl-bordered fritillary B. selene. The caterpillars of several other species of fritillary butterflies also feed on Viola species5. .  One reason for the fall in abundance of the several fritillary species in Britain is thought to be the long-term decline in the practice of coppicing hazel woods, allowing tree cover to grow up and shade out the ground flora6. .  Richard Mabey described how there was a forty-fold increase in the number of flowers of the early dog violet in a Cambridgeshire wood after coppicing7. . 
 
Dog violets are used as a food plant by the caterpillars of the Clouded Buff moth Diacrisia sannio, but only 3 species of other wildlife butterflies and moths8. .
 
References
 
1.  Stace, C. 2010  New Flora of the British Isles, Third Edition. P. 333.
 
2.  Pearman, D. (2017). The Discovery of the Native Flora of Britain and Ireland, Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland. P424 
 
3.  Stace, C. 2010  New Flora of the British Isles, Third Edition. P. 334.
 
4. Grigson, G. 1995. An Englishman’s Flora. P. 71.
 
5. Crafer, T. 2005. Foodplant list for the Caterpillars of Britain’s Butterflies and Larger Moths.
 
6. UK Butterflies website  accessed 5 April 2023.
 
7. Mabey, R. 1996. Flora Britannica. P. 127.
 
8. See the Biological Record Centre database  
 
 
Page written by Marc Carlton.  Compiled by Steve Head
 
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