Flora of North America species comparison

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Viola lanceolata

bog white violet, Howell's violet, lance-leaf or bog white violet, lance-leaf violet, strap-leaf violet, violette lancéolée, white bog violet
Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, stoloniferous, 5–30 cm; stolons pale, often rooting and leafy at nodes; rhizome slender, fleshy.
Leaves

basal, 2–6(–9), ascending to erect;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire or irregularly lacerate (at least distally), apex acute;

petiole 2–12 cm, glabrous or pubescent;

blade unlobed, lanceolate or narrowly elliptic to nearly linear, 2.5–12 × 0.7–2.5 cm, longer than wide, base attenuate, margins serrate, mostly eciliate, apex acute, mucronulate, surfaces glabrous.
Peduncles

2–17 cm, usually pubescent.
Flowers

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

petals white on both surfaces, lowest and sometimes lateral 2 purple-veined, lateral 2 sparsely bearded or beardless, lowest 7–12 mm, spur white, gibbous, 1–2 mm;

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

ellipsoid, 5–8 mm, glabrous.
Seeds

beige to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.
2n

= 24.

Viola lanceolata
Phenology Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Open to semi-open wet areas, bogs, meadows, pond and lake shores, stream banks, seasonally inundated depressions
Elevation 0–2000 m (0–6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Viola lanceolata occurs in small colonies; individual plants are interconnected by stolons.

Viola lanceolata subsp. vittata was recognized by N. H. Russell (1955) based on its linear leaf blade shape. The range in leaf blade shape appears to have no distinct line of demarcation. Some believe that leaf shape differences and near restriction to the coastal plain support recognition at some level. Studies are necessary to resolve this issue.

J. H. Shultze (1946) reported that Viola lanceolata was introduced into Washington in the early 1900s primarily from Cape Cod and Wisconsin as a result of importation of cranberry vines. In British Columbia, it is known from Lulu Island, where it was introduced from eastern North America (G. W. Douglas et al. 1998–2002, vol. 5).

Viola lanceolata reportedly hybridizes with V. primulifolia var. primulifolia (= V. ×modesta House) and V. macloskeyi (= V. ×sublanceolata House).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 135.
Parent taxa 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. glabella, V. guadalupensis, V. hallii, V. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, 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
Synonyms V. lanceolata subsp. vittata, V. lanceolata var. vittata, V. vittata
Name authority 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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