The Dog’s Tooth Violet is an early spring bloomer. The name refers to the shape of the oblong bulb that resembles the tooth of a dog. Dog’s Tooth Violet is hardly present in the Netherlands in Stinzen environment, but sometimes introduced on a small scale. The petals of this beautiful plant bend backwards as the plant blooms and the sun shines (see image above). The plant occurs in some places in the Pyrenees en masse.

While most types of Stinzenplants prefer a relatively nutrient rich (P and K), calcareous environment, that is not too nitrogen rich (N) and that in spring is quite humid with a good soil structure, the requirements for the Dog’s Tooth Violet are somewhat different. These prefer a low-nutrient, slightly acidic light soil. In view of these requirements, it is to be expected that such a species will have difficulty to survive in a calcareous loamy or clay soil as is often present in Frysian Stinzenplants areas.

The Dog’s Tooth Violet occurs on a very small scale at Philippusfenne. Stinze Stiens has planted the bulbs in 2014 on a small scale.