Viola hirta
Tracheophyta
›Magnoliopsida›Violaceae›Viola›Viola hirta
Ecology
A perennial herb, occurring mainly on calcareous soils, and found in short grassland or open scrub on downland, rocky slopes, limestone pavement, woodland borders and rides, and sometimes on base-flushed but more acidic riverside substrates; also on roadsides and railway banks. Generally lowland, but reaching 610 m on Long Fell (Westmorland).
Status
Native
Trends
V. hirta shows some decline throughout its range, largely through habitat loss to agricultural or other development.
World Distribution
Eurosiberian Temperate element.
© C. Gibson
Hatfield Forest
© C. Gibson
Hatfield Forest
© C. Gibson
Hatfield Forest
© C. Gibson
Broad Habitats
Calcareous grassland (includes lowland and montane types)
Light (Ellenberg): 7
Moisture (Ellenberg): 4
Reaction (Ellenberg): 8
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 2
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 3.7
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 15.7
Annual Precipitation (mm): 795
Height (cm): 15
Perennation - primary
Perennial
Life Form - primary
Hemicryptophyte
Woodiness
Herbaceous
Clonality - primary
Little or no vegetative spread
Clonality - secondary
Rhizome shortly creeping
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 964
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 19
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 0
Atlas Change Index: -0.46
Weighted Changed Factor: -12
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
25
JNCC Designations
NBNSYS0000002926
Comment on Clonality