Flora of North America species comparison

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Viola epipsila

Viola clauseniana

Canada violet, dwarf marsh violet, northern marsh violet

Clausen's violet
Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–20 cm; rhizome short, slender, fleshy.
Leaves

basal, 2–10, often prostrate, sometimes ascending;

stipules narrowly lanceolate, margins faintly glandular-toothed, apex acute or obtuse;

petiole 5–11 cm, glabrous;

blade unlobed, ± deltate, 3–5 × 4–5 cm, base ± truncate, margins serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex obtuse, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes sparsely pubescent abaxially.
Peduncles

8–14 cm, glabrous.
Flowers

sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins eciliate or ciliate around auricles, auricles 1–2 mm;

petals light violet on both surfaces, lower 3 purple-veined, all beardless, lowest petal 8–20 mm, spur white, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate to ascending peduncles.
Capsules

oblong, 8–10 mm, glabrous.
Seeds

dark brown to black, 1.2–2 mm.
2n

= 44.

Viola epipsila

Viola clauseniana
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Hanging gardens, seeps, springs, shady areas
Elevation 1600 m (5200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; MI; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; YT; Europe; Asia
from FNA
UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Of conservation concern.

Viola clauseniana is endemic to Zion National Park, Washington County. M. S. Baker reported that its seeds were minutely roughed, a characteristic not recorded for other Viola species. Viola clauseniana was originally thought to be closely related to the acaulescent blue violets, most notably V. nephrophylla (S. L. Welsh et al. 1987; L. E. McKinney 1992). After contemplating the 2n = 44 chromosome count obtained by J. Clausen (1964), H. E. Ballard (pers. comm.) suggested that V. clauseniana might be more closely related with the stemless white violets (for example, V. blanda) than with V. nephrophylla. Viola clauseniana was considered a distinct species by N. H. Holmgren (2005d) and T. Marcussen and T. Karlsson (2010).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 130. FNA vol. 6, p. 128.
Parent taxa Violaceae > Viola Violaceae > Viola
Sibling taxa
V. adunca, V. affinis, V. arvensis, V. bakeri, V. beckwithii, V. bicolor, V. biflora, V. blanda, V. brittoniana, V. canadensis, V. canina, V. charlestonensis, V. clauseniana, V. cucullata, V. cuneata, V. douglasii, V. egglestonii, V. flettii, V. frank-smithii, V. glabella, V. guadalupensis, V. hallii, V. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. lithion, V. lobata, V. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, V. nephrophylla, V. novae-angliae, V. nuttallii, V. ocellata, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palmata, V. palustris, V. pedata, V. pedatifida, V. pedunculata, V. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, V. purpurea, V. quercetorum, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. rostrata, V. rotundifolia, V. sagittata, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. septemloba, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. striata, V. subsinuata, V. tomentosa, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. tripartita, V. umbraticola, V. utahensis, V. vallicola, V. villosa, V. walteri
V. adunca, V. affinis, V. arvensis, V. bakeri, V. beckwithii, V. bicolor, V. biflora, V. blanda, V. brittoniana, V. canadensis, V. canina, V. charlestonensis, V. cucullata, V. cuneata, V. douglasii, V. egglestonii, V. epipsila, V. flettii, V. frank-smithii, V. glabella, V. guadalupensis, V. hallii, V. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. lithion, V. lobata, V. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, V. nephrophylla, V. novae-angliae, V. nuttallii, V. ocellata, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palmata, V. palustris, V. pedata, V. pedatifida, V. pedunculata, V. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, V. purpurea, V. quercetorum, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. rostrata, V. rotundifolia, V. sagittata, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. septemloba, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. striata, V. subsinuata, V. tomentosa, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. tripartita, V. umbraticola, V. utahensis, V. vallicola, V. villosa, V. walteri
Subordinate taxa
V. epipsila var. repens
Name authority Ledebour: Index Seminum (Dorpat) 1820: 5. (1820) M. S. Baker: Madroño 4: 194. (1938)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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