| Viola calcarata | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Violaceae |
| Genus: | Viola |
| Species: | V. calcarata |
| Binomial name | |
| Viola calcarata | |
Viola calcarata is aspecies ofgenusViola that grows onmountains of south-easternEurope. It is commonly known aslong-spurred violet ormountain violet. It is aherbaceous floweringperennial plant.
This plant, up to 15 cm tall, has short and glabrousstem, leafy in the lower part, prostrate, ascendent or suberect.
This plant can showheterophylly: upperleaves can be different from lower leaves. The blade can be more or less elongated, from rounded to lanceolate, with crenate margin. At the base of thepetiole there arestipules (5–15 mm long) of various form, from linear and entire stipules to stipules divided in many linear segments, pennate or palmate.
Flower has a bigcorolla, 2 to 4 cm wide, of various colors: almost yellow in the center, usually with dark violet veins, the outer parts can be violet, blue, yellow or white. Lower petal has aspur 8–15 cm long. Flowering time is from May to August.
This is an alpine plant, usually growing from 1500 m to 2800 m, in meadows and pastures. Studies suggest that as thealpine climate becomes hotter, it is likely to be more challenged than most plants. In theSwiss Alps, for instance, it is projected to goextinct around 2050 even under the more optimisticclimate change scenarios.[1]
