Dune pansy
size:
5 to 25 centimeters
color:
often tricolored bluish purple, purple or reddish purple, yellow and white
blossoms:
April through October
pollination:
insects
reproduction:
seed
life span:
perennial
- Dut: Duinviooltje
- Lat: Viola curtisii
- Eng: Dune pansy, seaside pansy
- Ger: Dünen-Stiefmütterchen
- Fren: Pensee des dunes
print
- Dune pansy, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Dune pansy
Despite its delicate appearance above ground, dune pansies have long taproots that can grow as long as 1 meter to reach water. Because the roots are in contact with a water reserve, they can survive warm and even freezing conditions. Dune pansies flower in the spring and have a second bloom in the autumn. The multicolored blossoms are smaller and less intensely colored in the autumn.
- Heartsease
- Heartsease, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Heartsease, also known as wild pansy, closely resembles the dune pansy. However, it is a different species. For one thing, it is an annual, living only one year, and has a simple root system. Whereas the dune pansy is a true coastal plant limited to Western Europe and the Baltic Sea coasts, heartsease also grows in loamy soils throughout large parts of Europe.
- Distribution and habitat
- Dune pansies, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Dune pansies are found in the Netherlands in dunes regions along the whole coast. They grow in groups preferably on bare nutrient-poor sand, where some drifting occurs; for example, on dune slopes where rabbits have been digging, while at the same time fertilizing the ground. Dune pansies are the most common pansy species on the Wadden Islands and along the coasts of Holland and Zeeland.
This pansy, as well as many other pansy species, is an important food plant for the caterpillars of the fritillary butterflies: pansies contain the necessary nutriments these caterpillars need to survive. Dune pansies are often found together with burnet roses.
See also
Info
Copyright Ecomare
