Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Viola epipsila

Viola frank-smithii

Canada violet, dwarf marsh violet, northern marsh violet

Frank Smith violet, Frank-Smith's violet
Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 1.5–12.5 cm.
Stems

1–4, decumbent or ascending to erect, glabrous, on caudex from fleshy rhizome.
Leaves

basal and cauline;

basal: 2–3;

stipules lanceolate, margins fimbriate, apex acute;

petiole 1.5–6(–14) cm, glabrous;

blade broadly ovate to deltate, 1.3–2.9(–4.1) × 1.3–2.9 cm, base cordate to truncate, margins crenate, eciliate, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces glabrous;

cauline similar to basal except: petiole 1.3–6.5 cm;

blade 1.1–2.2 × 0.7–1.6 cm.
Peduncles

2.5–7(–11.2) cm, glabrous.
Flowers

sepals lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1.5 mm; all petals usually pale purple, sometimes almost white adaxially, lateral 2 and lowest purple-veined, lateral and upper 2 violet abaxially, white basally, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 10–16(–18) mm, spur greenish to pale lime green, gibbous, 1.6–3 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers unknown.
Capsules

ovoid, 3–7 mm, glabrous.
Seeds

pale yellow, 2.4–2.8 mm.

Viola epipsila

Viola frank-smithii
Phenology Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat Cracks, crevices, and narrow ledges of vertical limestone and dolomite rock faces, humid, shady places
Elevation 1600–2100 m (5200–6900 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 frank-smithii is endemic to Logan Canyon, Cache County, Utah. N. H. Holmgren (2005d) wrote that it likely has its ancestral ties with V. adunca.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 130. FNA vol. 6, p. 131.
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. clauseniana, V. cucullata, V. cuneata, V. douglasii, V. egglestonii, V. epipsila, V. flettii, 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) N. H. Holmgren: Brittonia 44: 303, fig. 1E – H. (1992)
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).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers