Viola blanda |
Viola bicolor |
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sweet white violet, violette agréable |
field pansy, violette de Rafinesque, wild pansy |
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Habit | Plants perennial, acaulescent, stoloniferous, 3–20 cm; stolons pale, often rooting and leafy at nodes; rhizome short, slender, fleshy. | |
Leaves | basal, 2–9, prostrate to ascending; stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute; petiole 2–11 cm, usually sparsely pubescent; blade unlobed, reniform to ovate, 2–4 × 2–4 cm, base cordate, lobes often overlapping, margins serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex rounded or acute to acuminate, surfaces sometimes glabrous, usually sparsely pubescent adaxially. |
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Peduncles | 3–11 cm, glabrous or pubescent. |
1–4.5 cm, glabrous or pubescent. |
Flowers | sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins mostly eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm; petals white on both surfaces, lower 3 purple-veined, lateral 2 usually beardless, lowest 8–10 mm, spur white, gibbous, 1–2 mm; style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
sepals ovate to lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–2 mm; petals white or cream to pale bluish violet on both surfaces, dark purple-veined, lateral 2 longer than sepals, bearded, lowest 8–10 mm, spur white to blue-violet, gibbous, 1–1.5 mm, shorter than or equaling sepal auricles; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
Capsules | ovoid to ellipsoid, 4–6 mm, glabrous. |
ellipsoid to oblong, 4–7 mm, glabrous. |
Seeds | beige to bronze, 1.5–2 mm. |
beige to bronze, 0.3–1.5 mm. |
2n | = 44, 48. |
= 34. |
Viola blanda |
Viola bicolor |
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Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Rich woods | Prairies, open woodlands, fields, pastures, roadsides, lawns, waste ground |
Elevation | 30–2000 m (100–6600 ft) | 0–3000 m (0–9800 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; AB; MB; NB; NL; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK
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AL; AR; AZ; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; WV; ON; SK
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Discussion | Viola blanda occurs in small colonies; individual plants are interconnected by stolons. Whether to recognize Viola incognita at any taxonomic level is currently unresolved. It is said to have pubescent leaf blades, greenish peduncles, nontwisted lateral petals, and a preference for moister habitats. Most of these characters fall within the range of variation observed in V. blanda. N. H. Russell (1965) noted that Viola incognita is principally found in glaciated areas whereas V. blanda is found in nonglaciated areas. Á. Löve and D. Löve (1982b) and J. M. Canne (1987) reported a chromosome count of 2n = 44; J. Clausen (1929) and A. Gershoy (1934) reported 2n = 48. V. B. Baird (1942) reported that V. blanda (and V. incognita) have fragrant flowers. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Viola bicolor is the only pansy native to North America (V. B. Baird 1942; J. Clausen et al. 1964; A. E. Radford et al. 1968) and is the only annual Viola species that produces cleistogamous flowers (Baird; A. Gershoy 1934). Roots of V. bicolor have the odor of wintergreen when crushed (W. J. Hayden and J. Clough 1990). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 124. | FNA vol. 6, p. 122. |
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. blanda var. palustriformis, V. incognita, V. incognita var. forbesii, V. leconteana | V. kitaibeliana var. rafinesquei, V. rafinesquei |
Name authority | Willdenow: Hort. Berol. 1(2): plate 24. (1804) | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 175. (1813) |
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