Inis ecologists were surveying in Munster last week and came across this beautiful Dog-violet. This plant is a native, early bloomer (April to May) belonging to the Violaceae family. These delicate little flowers are of widespread distribution throughout Ireland but are more common in the east. They will grow on most soil types but are unlikely to be found on acidic soils. As well as providing these wonderful blue-violet flowers, the Dog-violet is the larval food plant of the Dark Green Fritillary butterfly.
