Family: violets (Violaceae)
Flowering time: March–June
Size: 10–25 cm
Habitat: forests
Forest violet (Viola reichenbachiana) resembles Rivin's violet in appearance. It likewise has developed basal leaves and a leafy stem, but the rosette does not form. Its bare stem grows to 10 to 25 cm tall. Basal and stem leaves are heart-shaped, usually hairless. The stem leaves are generally longer than their width and thus noticeably narrower than the basal ones. The hairs on the edge of the leaf blades are long; we say that the leaf blades are long-awned. The light purple flowers are 1.5 to 2 cm long. The spur is the same color as the corolla, 3 to 6 mm long. The appendages of the pointed calyx leaves are inconspicuous, up to 1 mm long. The ovary and later the fruit are hairless.
Forest violet thrives in the shelter of forests, on fresh soils rich in humus and nutrients, on a more or less neutral substrate. It is widespread throughout Slovenia.
