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Macloskey's or northern white or small white or smooth white or wild white violet, Macloskey's violet, northern white violet, small white violet, smooth white violet, violette pâle

halberd-leaf or halberdleaf yellow violet, halberdleaf yellow violet

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, stoloniferous, 2–10 cm; stolons pale, often rooting and leafy at nodes; rhizome slender, fleshy. Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–30 cm.
Stems

1(–2), erect, leafless proximally, leafy distally, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, from fleshy rhizome.

Leaves

basal, 2–6, ascending to erect;

stipules ovate to linear-lanceolate, margins entire or glandular-toothed, apex acute;

petiole 1–10 cm, strigose;

blade unlobed, reniform to ovate, 1–6.5 × 1–5.5 cm, base broadly or shallowly cordate, margins ± entire or shallowly crenate, eciliate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces usually glabrous, abaxial surfaces sometimes puberulent on proximal 1/2.

basal and cauline;

basal: 0–1;

stipules ovate to lanceolate, margins laciniate with gland-tipped projections, apex usually acuminate;

petiole 3–11.5 cm, usually glabrous;

blade sometimes gray-green abaxially, usually mottled light green adaxially, widely or narrowly hastate to ovate, 2.5–4.4 × 1.8–3.2 cm, base hastate to cordate or truncate, margins serrate or crenate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes scabrous;

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

petiole 1–2.5 cm;

blade 2–10 × 1.1–4.5 cm.

Peduncles

2.5–11(–21) cm, usually glabrous, sometimes villous.

1–5.3 cm, usually glabrous.

Flowers

sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–2 mm;

petals white on both surfaces, lower 3 purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, rarely beardless, lowest 6–12 mm, spur white, gibbous, 1–2.5 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on ascending peduncles.

sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins mostly eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;

petals lemon-yellow usually on both surfaces, lower 3 and sometimes upper 2 brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 9.5–12 mm, spur yellow to greenish, gibbous, 0.5–2 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.

Capsules

ovoid, 5–9 mm, glabrous.

ovoid to ellipsoid, 6–8 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

beige to bronze, 1–1.5 mm.

beige to bronze, 2–2.5 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 12.

Viola macloskeyi

Viola hastata

Phenology Flowering Mar–Sep. Flowering late Mar–May.
Habitat Bogs, wet meadows, seeps, lake margins, stream banks, floodplains, swampy woods, mesic roadside depressions, often among mosses Rich woods, chiefly mountains and piedmont
Elevation 0–3600 m (0–11800 ft) 50–2000 m (200–6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; CT; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; SPM
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from FNA
AL; GA; KY; MD; NC; NY; OH; PA; SC; TN; VA; WV
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Discussion

Viola macloskeyi was described by Banks in 1824 as V. rotundifolia var. pallens, from specimens collected by Banks in Labrador. E. Brainerd made the combination V. pallens in 1905 and later (1924) detailed its troublesome nomenclatural history.

Viola macloskeyi was described in 1895 by F. E. Lloyd based on specimens collected at the base of Mount Hood, Oregon. M. S. Baker (1953) placed V. macloskeyi as a subspecies of V. pallens. He later (1953b) corrected that change based on priority and thus the taxon became known as V. macloskeyi subsp. pallens. N. H. Russell (1955) maintained that status, separating subspp. macloskeyi and pallens on the wider, spreading basal leaf lobes of subsp. pallens. McKinney, after examining specimens of both taxa, including types, concluded that the differences have been exaggerated and fall within the range of variation of a single species.

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

In parts of its range, Viola macloskeyi often shares habitat with V. renifolia; it may be difficult to distinguish the two. The stolons of V. macloskeyi are useful for identification during summer months; V. renifolia plants lack stolons. Patterns of indument can be useful; V. renifolia is usually hairy and V. macloskeyi is usually glabrous (petioles sometimes pubescent).

Viola macloskeyi reportedly hybridizes with V. primulifolia var. primulifolia (= V. ×mollicula House).

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

V. B. Baird (1942) commented that Viola hastata is more closely related to V. glabella than to any eastern species.

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 137. FNA vol. 6, p. 133.
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. glabella, V. guadalupensis, V. hallii, V. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. lithion, V. lobata, 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. 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
Synonyms V. blanda subsp. macloskeyi, V. blanda var. macloskeyi, V. macloskeyi subsp. pallens, V. macloskeyi var. pallens, V. pallens, V. pallens subsp. macloskeyi, V. pallens var. subreptans, V. rotundifolia var. pallens
Name authority F. E. Lloyd: Erythea 3: 74. (1895) Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 149. (1803)
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