The mountain pansy (Viola lutea) is, as its name suggests, a
plant found in upland areas. Within the United Kingdom it is absent south of a
line from the Severn to the Humber. It is a genuinely wild flower in that it is
very difficult to get it to thrive in a garden setting, but it does well in
grassy areas and on rock ledges in remote hilly environments, especially in
lime rich soils.
The mountain pansy grows to a height of eight inches (20
centimetres) as a slender flowering stem. The leaves are oval when low down on
the stem but narrower further up. They do not form a rosette at the base, but
leaf-like stipules, divided into slender lobes, are found there instead.
The flowers, which appear from June to August, are usually
single but not always so, as a single stem may bear up to four blooms. Flowering
stems are sometimes sent up by creeping underground stems.
The fruit capsule splits into three parts to release the
seeds when ripe.
Various colour variations have been noted, including yellow,
blue-violet and red-violet. However, these variations do not occur within the
same geographical area, such that yellow predominates in Derbyshire and
Yorkshire and purple in Scotland.
© John Welford
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