Viola lutea subsp. calaminaria

Viola lutea subsp. calaminaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Violaceae
Genus:	Viola
Species:	V. lutea
Subspecies:	V. l. subsp. calaminaria
Trinomial name
Viola lutea subsp. calaminaria (Gingins) Nauenb. (1986)[1]
Synonyms
Viola calaminaria (Ging.) Lej. Viola sudetica var. calaminaria Ging. Viola lutea var. multicaulis W.D.J.Koch

Viola lutea subsp. calaminaria (synonym Viola calaminaria) is a subspecies of V. lutea, in the violet family, the Violaceae. The plant occurs from Kelmis (La Calamine in French) in the Belgian province of Liège across the borders to Germany and the Netherlands. The plant has adapted to an excess of zinc in the tailings of a former mine, the heaps of stone left over after separating the valuable fraction from the ore. By evolving the ability to cope with the toxic heavy metal pollution, this violet has gained an advantage over the other plants in the ecosystem, as is able to become the locally dominant floral component of such habitats.