There is a lovely patch of violets in full bloom on graves in our church yard. There are five native species of violets and these pale lilac-coloured flowers are a special locally-common native species called Early Dog-Violet which thrive in a shady place. There are only a handful of areas in Rutland where they are recorded to be growing, most of which are in Ancient Woodland and church yards. To identify the species, you have to look around the back of the petals and check the shape of the flower spur, sepals, flower stem and leaves. The Early Dog-Violet has slender straight dark violet-blue spur, not furrowed or notched. The sepals are pointed and the upper part (sepal appendages) are very short. 

This Spring, take a closer look at violets at your feet and see if you too have a special little native gem. The crib sheet by Moira is an excellent guide to the different violet species. dinkymoira_violets.png (1366×768)