Viola flettii |
Viola lithion |
Viola subsinuata |
|
---|---|---|---|
Flett's violet, Olympic violet, rock violet |
rock violet |
early blue violet, wavy-leaf violet, wood violet |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–15 cm. | Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–15 cm. | Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 10–30 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy. |
Stems | 1–3, ascending to erect, mostly glabrous, on caudex from fleshy rhizome. |
1–3, ascending to erect, glabrous, on caudex from fleshy rhizome. |
|
Leaves | basal and cauline; basal: 1–3; stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire or with glandular processes, apex acuminate; petiole 1.5–9.7 cm, mostly glabrous; blade purple-tinted and –veined, broadly reniform to ovate, 0.9–2.4 × 1.2–4 cm, base cordate, margins finely crenate-serrate, eciliate, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent along veins adaxially; cauline similar to basal except: stipules ovate to lanceolate, margins entire or shallowly laciniate; petiole 0.7–5.9 cm, usually glabrous; blade 0.8–2.1 × 1.2–3.1 cm. |
basal and cauline; basal: 1–4; stipules unknown; petiole 1–10 cm, glabrous, sometimes finely puberulent; blade broadly ovate or deltate to broadly deltate, 1–2.5(–2.9) × 0.6–2.2(–2.6) cm, base usually cordate to truncate, rarely rounded, margins crenate-dentate, eciliate, apex acute, surfaces glabrous; cauline similar to basal except: stipules lanceolate, margins usually fimbriate-toothed, sometimes entire, apex attenuate or acute; petiole 1.1–3.7 cm, sometimes finely puberulent; blade ovate to deltate, 0.7–2.2 × 0.4–1.2 cm, base sometimes rounded on distal blades. |
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 | 1.8–7.1 cm, usually glabrous. |
3–6(–10) cm, glabrous. |
5–15 cm, glabrous or pubescent. |
Flowers | sepals lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1.5 mm; petals soft reddish violet on both surfaces, all with yellow area basally, lower 3 dark violet-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest with white around yellow area, 10–15 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 0.5–2 mm; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
sepals lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm; petals blue to pale violet on both surfaces with yellow area basally, lower 3 purple-veined, lowest with yellow area, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 5.5–11 mm, spur white to pale violet, gibbous, 0.5–1.3 mm; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers unknown. |
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. |
subglobose, ca. 5 mm, glabrous. |
ellipsoid, 8–12 mm, glabrous. |
Seeds | dark brown to brownish purple, 2.5–3 mm. |
dark brown, ca. 1.8 mm. |
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm. |
2n | = 54. |
||
Viola flettii |
Viola lithion |
Viola subsinuata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Alpine and subalpine rock crevices, vertical faces, talus slopes | Seasonally wet cracks and crevices, narrow ledges of rock outcrops, shaded northeast-facing avalanche chutes, cirque headwalls, subalpine conifer zone | Rich woods |
Elevation | 1100–2000 m (3600–6600 ft) | 2300–3100 m (7500–10200 ft) | 100–3000 m (300–9800 ft) |
Distribution |
WA
|
NV; UT |
CT; DC; DE; GA; IL; KY; MA; MD; MI; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON
|
Discussion | Viola flettii is endemic to the Olympic Mountains of northwestern Washington. C. S. McCreary (2005) noted that although morphologically and ecologically distinct, V. cuneata, V. flettii, and V. ocellata are closely related. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Viola lithion is known only from the White Pine Range in Nevada and the Pilot Range straddling the Nevada-Utah border. It is related to V. canadensis and V. flettii. (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. 131. | FNA vol. 6, p. 136. | FNA vol. 6, p. 159. |
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola |
Sibling taxa | |||
Synonyms | V. emarginata var. subsinuata, V. palmata var. angelliae | ||
Name authority | Piper: Erythea 6: 69. (1898) | N. H. Holmgren & P. K. Holmgren: Brittonia 44: 300, fig. 1A – D. (1992) | (Greene) Greene: Pittonia 4: 4. (1899) |
Web links | |||