Viola cuneata |
Viola subsinuata |
|
---|---|---|
northern two-eyed or wedge-leaf violet, northern two-eyed violet, wedge-leaf violet |
early blue violet, wavy-leaf violet, wood violet |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 2–25 cm. | Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 10–30 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy. |
Stems | 1–3, usually erect, sometimes prostrate or ascending, glabrous, from shallow, fleshy rhizome or deep-seated caudex with fleshy roots. |
|
Leaves | basal and cauline; basal: 2–6; stipules lanceolate, margins entire or gland-toothed, apex acute; petiole 4.5–9.8 cm, glabrous; blade purple-veined, orbiculate-ovate to deltate, 1–4 × 2.7–3.8 cm, usually shiny, leathery, base cuneate, margins serrate, eciliate, apex acute, mucronulate, surfaces glabrous; cauline similar to basal except: stipules lanceolate to ovate, margins entire or erose to lacerate, with or without gland-tipped processes, apex acute to acuminate; petiole 0.5–20 cm; blade usually rhombic, sometimes orbiculate, 0.9–2.6 × 0.7–1.8 cm, margins crenate to ± serrate, apex acute to obtuse. |
basal, 2–11, ascending to erect; stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute; petiole 5–25 cm, glabrous or pubescent; mid-season leaf blades incised or lobed throughout, earliest leaf blades lobed (plants homophyllous), similar to mid-season blades, blade 5–9(–16)-lobed, sinuses usually narrower, shallower toward leaf base, middle and lateral blade lobes differ in width and/or shape, middle lobes narrowly deltate to narrowly elliptic, lateral lobes narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or falcate, 1–11 × 1–12 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins entire or crenate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, mucronulate, surfaces usually pubescent throughout or on veins. |
Peduncles | 1–10.5 cm, glabrous. |
5–15 cm, glabrous or pubescent. |
Flowers | sepals lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm; petals deep reddish violet abaxially, white adaxially, upper 2 sometimes with purple patch basally, lateral 2 with purple patch basally beyond smaller yellow area, usually bearded, sometimes beardless, lowest purple-veined with yellow area basally, 8–14 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 1–2 mm; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm; petals light to dark blue-violet on both surfaces, lower 3 and upper 2 sometimes purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest sometimes bearded, 15–25 mm, spur color same as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm; style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate to ascending peduncles. |
Capsules | ± spherical, 5–9 mm, glabrous. |
ellipsoid, 8–12 mm, glabrous. |
Seeds | deep brown-purple, 2.1–3 mm. |
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm. |
2n | = 54. |
|
Viola cuneata |
Viola subsinuata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Sep. | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Open pine or oak forests, often serpentine soil | Rich woods |
Elevation | 600–2200 m (2000–7200 ft) | 100–3000 m (300–9800 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR
|
CT; DC; DE; GA; IL; KY; MA; MD; MI; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON
|
Discussion | Viola cuneata often occurs on serpentine-derived soil and is closely related to V. flettii, V. hallii, and V. ocellata (V. B. Baird 1942). Originally described as beardless by Watson, the lateral petals of flowers in the same population can be prominently bearded or essentially beardless. The cauline blades of Viola cuneata are often vertical, especially early in season. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
L. E. McKinney (1992) described the misconceptions surrounding Viola subsinuata that many came to think of as the heterophyllous V. palmata, whereas V. subsinuata is homophyllous. As E. Brainerd (1910, 1921) pointed out, heterophylly versus homophylly is an important and steadfast character difference in acaulescent Viola species. N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) chose not to recognize V. subsinuata, suggesting that it represented a hybrid or introgressant. H. E. Ballard (2000) and A. Haines (2011) both recognized V. subsinuata as a species. Viola subsinuata is a state historical species in Rhode Island, where it was last documented in 1941 (R. W. Enser, http://rinhs.org/wp-content/uploads/ri_rare_plants_2007.pdf). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 129. | FNA vol. 6, p. 159. |
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. emarginata var. subsinuata, V. palmata var. angelliae | |
Name authority | S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 14: 290. (1879) | (Greene) Greene: Pittonia 4: 4. (1899) |
Web links |