Common dog violet

Common dog violet (Viola riviniana) grows throughout the British Isles, being found in woods, fields, hedges, heaths and rocky places. The name “dog” signifies a plant that is regarded as being inferior, in some sense, from another similar plant, an example being the “dog rose” that is an uncultivated wild relative of the garden rose. In this case, common dog violet is an unscented variety of violet and thus less desirable than the scented sweet violet.

Other folk names for unscented violets include “blue mice”, “pig violet” and “shoes and stockings”.

The common dog violet has leafy flowering stems and does not produce runners. The plant grows to 8 inches (20 centimetres) in height. The leaves at the base form a rosette while other heart-shaped leaves grow on stalks. At the base of each leaf stalk is a pair of leaf-like stipules that bear long slender teeth on their edges.

The flowers, which appear in May and June, are blue-violet with a much paler spur. The seed capsules are triangular in shape. They open to shed their seeds while still on the plant. 

© John Welford