Flora of North America species comparison

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Viola glabella

Viola palustris

pioneer violet, smooth yellow violet, stream or smooth yellow or yellow wood or wood or smooth yellow woodland violet, stream violet, violette glabre, yellow wood violet

alpine marsh violet, marsh violet, northern marsh or marsh or swamp or alpine marsh violet, northern marsh violet, violette des marais
Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–38 cm. Plants perennial, acaulescent, stoloniferous, 3–21.5 cm; stolons pale, often rooting and leafy at nodes; rhizome slender, fleshy.
Stems

1–3, erect or prostrate, leafless proximally, leafy distally, glabrous or finely puberulent, on caudex from fleshy rhizome.

Leaves

basal and cauline;

basal: 0–4(–7);

stipules ovate to obovate, margins entire, crenate, or serrate, usually glandular, apex acute to obtuse;

petiole 7–27.5 cm, glabrous or puberulent;

blade usually reniform to ovate, sometimes orbiculate, 3.3–8.5 × 2–9.3 cm, base cordate, margins crenate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute to obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces glabrous or finely puberulent;

cauline similar to basal except: usually restricted to distal ends of naked stems;

stipules ovate to oblong, margins erose or subserrate, often glandular, apex acute to acuminate;

petiole 0.2–2.9 cm, glabrous or finely puberulent;

blade ovate to deltate, 1.4–5.7 × 0.8–4.7 cm, base cordate to truncate, margins crenate to ± serrate, ciliate (sometimes limited to proximal half), apex acute.

basal, 2–4, ascending to erect;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;

petiole 1–17 cm, glabrous;

blade unlobed, reniform or ovate to orbiculate, 0.5–6.4 × 0.5–5.5 cm, ± as long as wide, base cordate, margins crenulate, eciliate, apex obtuse to acuminate, surfaces glabrous.
Peduncles

2–8 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

2–20.7 cm, glabrous, bracteoles usually below middle in chasmogamous flowers.
Flowers

sepals linear-lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;

petals deep lemon-yellow on both surfaces, lower 3 and sometimes upper 2 brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 6–18 mm, spur yellow to greenish, gibbous, 0.5–2 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.

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

petals lilac, pale blue, or pale violet on both surfaces, sometimes nearly white and tinged with lilac, lowest and sometimes lateral 2 dark violet-veined, lateral 2 bearded or beardless, lowest 8–16 mm, spur usually same color as petals, gibbous, 1–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on ascending peduncles.
Capsules

ovoid to ellipsoid, 7–13 mm, glabrous.

ellipsoid, 6–10 mm, glabrous.
Seeds

light to dark brown, shiny, 2–2.2 mm.

dark brown, 1–2 mm.
2n

= 24.

= 48.

Viola glabella

Viola palustris
Phenology Flowering Mar–Aug. Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Damp, wet, or shady places in forests, stream banks Marshes, swamps, fens, wet forests, stream banks, brushy places, lowlands to subalpine zones
Elevation 0–2600 m (0–8500 ft) 0–1800 m (0–5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; ME; MT; NH; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NL; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; Greenland; Eurasia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Viola glabella is similar in overall appearance to V. pubescens. The cauline leaves are sometimes described as appearing only near the apex of the stem (P. A. Munz 1959), but often a leaf occurs from a node on the stem below the apex.

Viola californica was described from collections made in Humboldt and Trinity counties, California, and may have arisen as a hybrid between V. glabella and V. lobata var. integrifolia. It is apparently limited to Abies concolor forests above 1520 m (M. S. Baker 1953). Study of V. californica is needed to determine if taxonomic recognition is warranted.

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

Viola palustris occurs in small colonies; individual plants are interconnected by stolons. When flowering, usually three or more leaves are present per caudex.

M. Sorsa (1968) noted that in western North America Viola palustris specimens differ from European V. palustris plants and often show variation in character combinations. She stated (pers. comm.) that North American V. palustris is not a uniform entity.

E. Hultén (1968) synonymized Viola palustris with V. epipsila, as did W. J. Cody (2000). G. W. Douglas et al. (1998–2002, vol. 5) recognized both species. We assume that V. palustris does not occur in Alaska; verification is needed. See additional discussion under 18a. V. epipsila var. repens.

M. Sorsa (1968) indicated that Viola palustris var. brevipes has often been confused with V. blanda and that var. brevipes may have arisen from hybridization between a tetraploid and a diploid plant. Listed here in synonymy, var. brevipes may warrant recognition.

Reports of Viola palustris from one location in Coconino County, Arizona, first collected in 1962, likely refer to V. macloskeyi.

Viola palustris hybridizes with V. epipsila var. repens (M. Sorsa 1968; T. Marcussen and T. Karlsson 2010).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 131. FNA vol. 6, p. 142.
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. epipsila, V. flettii, V. frank-smithii, 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. 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. 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
Synonyms V. californica, V. canadensis var. sitchensis, V. glabella var. remotifolia V. palustris subsp. brevipes, V. palustris var. brevipes, V. palustris var. leimonia, V. palustris var. pensylvanica, V. palustris subsp. pubifolia
Name authority Nuttall: in J. Torrey and A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 142. (1838) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 934. (1753)
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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