Normally Hairy Violets (Viola hirta) do not grow in wet places, but here it grows near a stream amongst yellow Lesser Celandines (Ficaria verna).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCoCq3MU1bJHlDayUCraefXmPvbslVac7tsNIbnmwoBsR_Ci9FstjMUsLqglJn0INiYWqzKFu2fVIX-cys9YFcIhAXWH5fUPGh3YrL4chcd-LGskKRg1cMYsrYBTIdagv4lBh27YT61M/s640/viola+hirta-181751za-bl.jpg)
Small spring violets are much alike. The difference between species is in the details.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljdaFmKYEMVDvO75NKR0CzDdfCWpDIXa1eI5fOakZ2glfynaZ0gSEE7_XB1Ev5rzv52HAhu2GcyYC7zXugVsVVIVKld6QMDfp2kKlHcAago2sKMvI4-WpsIH7F855xi7o27CYRcDqG4o/s640/viola+hirta-181746zb-bl.jpg)
The Hairy violet has rounded sepals...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2fu8YZNsUZ2Hyoke6UrKG-rkrcWQcCtm4P46ejzQFBhRjsN7FT5SN-H7-e6OBCChP8gX5qZlH5ClK5TnYE8ZH8l7ZlzfUUQibs1UbZV0nHmH-UodAsyuF82GuKBE-Yort3JLUMkFn1dE/s640/viola+hirta-181746za-bl.jpg)
... and, as its name says, hairs. You can find them on the new leaves, but they are very short and nearly invisible if you don't use a magnifying glass.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCaEhuaar0wOl1S681Sa7rt6fEOfDGpkHJQyPS_OcKlJdPqRnS4cX-QqckKawYXqFdmYP6w02ek0Wd5pBTgMQjRL-UKsnimFUx5rFB30D0x_PMgw4F7ejo9BYPod7Wy-IUKHvdEUMrXQ/s640/viola+hirta-181798za-bl.jpg)
Here are some plants growing amidst dead ferns at a wood edge, the usual habitat for this species.