kingdom Plantae - plants »  divisio Magnoliophyta - flowering plants »  class Rosopsida - eudicots » order Malpighiales »  family Violaceae »  tribus Violeae > genus Viola > Viola sect. Melanium  Ging. 

Viola athois W. Becker 

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Distributional Range:Native Europe SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Greece (n.e.: Athos Mountain)

Habitat: Viola athois is scattered through the subalpine zone, extending from the stony meadows near the treeline, to the rocky Athos peakGrows in rocky meadows and rock crevices of limestone substrate, from about 1500 to 2000 m altitude. It can be rarely encountered in forest gaps near the treeline, at an altitude a just below 1500 m. V. athois forms a single population that includes several thousand individuals, scattered throughout its area of occurrence, particularly at the south facing slopes of the mountain.Viola athois can be declared as Near Threatened (ΝΤ), mainly due to its relatively small number of mature individuals, (its population exceeds 1000 mature individuals)

References:

• Karydas, A. & Tiniakou A., 2009: Viola athois W. Becker. Pp. 383-384. In Phitos, D., Constantinidis, Th. & Kamari, G. (eds), The Red Data Book of Rare and Threatened Plants of Greece, 1. – Hellenic Botanical Society, Patras, Greece .

• Raus, Th. 1986: Viola L. Pp. 608-640. In Strid, A. (ed.), Mountain Flora of Greece, 1. – Cam- bridge University Press, Cambridge.