Early Dog-violet
Viola reichenbachiana

This shot was taken just outside a small village called Widley in Hampshire. The early dog-violet is a low growing plant similar to the common dog-violet, but flowering slightly earlier, from March to May. This tiny plant likes dry woodland edge habitats, especially on chalk or limestone. It is locally common in England, but rare in Wales and Ireland, and largely absent from Scotland. In the wild, it is the food plant of several species of fritillary butterflies, all of which are declining.