Viola canadensis |
Viola brittoniana |
|||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canada violet, Canada white violet, Canadian violet, Canadian white violet, rugose violet |
coast violet, coastal violet, northern coastal violet |
|||||||||
Habit | Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–46(–60) cm, with branching rhizomes forming colonies or not. | Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–30 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy. | ||||||||
Stems | 1–3(4), usually erect to ascending, glabrous or puberulent, from fleshy or subligneous rhizome. |
|||||||||
Leaves | basal and cauline; basal: 1–5; stipules ± oblong, ovate, or lanceolate, margins entire, sometimes glandular, apex acuminate to cuspidate; petiole 1.1–23 cm, glabrous or puberulent; blade ovate to broadly ovate or ovate-reniform, 0.7–12.4 × 0.9–11.1(–12.3) cm, base cordate, subcordate, or truncate, margins crenate, crenulate, or serrulate, ciliate (sometimes only on proximal 1/2) or eciliate, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces glabrous or puberulent (often only on veins); cauline similar to basal except: stipules also deltate, margins also erose or laciniate, apex acute, long-acuminate to cuspidate, or ± truncate, occasionally 2- or 3-fid; petiole 0.1–6.9(–15.2) cm; blade ovate to deltate, 1.2–7.7 × 0.8–7.8 cm, base cordate to truncate, margins crenate or crenulate to ± serrulate. |
basal, 5–9, ascending to erect, 5–9-lobed; stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex obtuse; petiole 3–16 cm, usually glabrous; mid-season blades incised or lobed throughout, earliest blades lobed (plants homophyllous), similar to mid-season blades, middle and lateral blade lobes differ in width and/or shape, middle lobes lanceolate or spatulate to narrowly obovate, lateral lobes lanceolate or spatulate to falcate (each sometimes with deltate to falcate appendages or teeth along margins), 1–7 × 2–8 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins entire, ciliate, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely with a few strigose, hairs concentrated on veins. |
||||||||
Peduncles | 1–6.1 cm, glabrate to puberulent, sometimes glabrous below bracteoles. |
5–18 cm, usually glabrous. |
||||||||
Flowers | sepals lanceolate, margins usually eciliate, auricles 0.5–1.3 mm; petals white adaxially, upper 2 and lower 3 tinged soft reddish violet abaxially, rarely white on both surfaces, all petals usually with yellow patch basally, lower 3 usually purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 5.5–20 mm, spur white, gibbous, 1–2 mm; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary or absent. |
sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 2–3 mm; petals light to soft reddish violet on both surfaces, lower 3 white basally, dark violet-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 10–25 mm, sometimes bearded, spur same color as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm; style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on ascending to erect peduncles. |
||||||||
Capsules | ovoid to ellipsoid, 2.5–10 mm, sometimes muriculate, glabrous or puberulent. |
ellipsoid, 10–15 mm, glabrous. |
||||||||
Seeds | brown to dark brown or purplish black, 1.5–2.5 mm. |
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm. |
||||||||
2n | = 54. |
|||||||||
Viola canadensis |
Viola brittoniana |
|||||||||
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | |||||||||
Habitat | Alluvial woods, mesic forests on slopes near streams, wet fields, salt meadows | |||||||||
Elevation | 0–100 m (0–300 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CO; CT; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT
|
CT; DE; MA; MD; ME; NC; NJ; NY; PA; SC; VA |
||||||||
Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Britton considered Viola brittoniana similar to V. pedatifida, apparently making him the first to recognize their affinity. Both are homophyllous and similar in other characters (L. E. McKinney 1992). McKinney recognized V. brittoniana as a variety of V. pedatifida. Additional evidence (N. L. Gil-Ad 1997; A. Haines 2011) suggests that these taxa are sufficiently distinct to continue recognition as separate species. Viola pectinata has sharply dentate leaves and is closely related to V. brittoniana, usually occurring with it. N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) made a convincing argument to recognize it as a form; A. Haines (2011) recognized it as a species. Others have considered it to be a sporadic form that may be of hybrid origin, or, as N. H. Russell (1965) suggested, is due to genetic dimorphism. We are reserving a decision on treating this taxon until additional studies are completed. A. Haines (2011) reported that the distribution of Viola brittoniana in Maine is actually based on the hybrid V. ×insolita House (V. brittoniana × V. sororia). Viola brittoniana reportedly hybridizes with V. cucullata (= V. ×notabilis E. P. Bicknell), V. sagittata var. sagittata (= V. ×mulfordiae Pollard), and V. sororia (= V. ×insolita). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
||||||||
Key |
|
|||||||||
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 125. | FNA vol. 6, p. 125. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Synonyms | V. atlantica, V. baxteri, V. brittoniana var. pectinata, V. pectinata, V. pedatifida subsp. brittoniana, V. pedatifida var. brittoniana | |||||||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 936. (1753) | Pollard: Bot. Gaz. 26: 332. (1898) | ||||||||
Web links |
|