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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

New England blue violet, New England violet

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, stoloniferous, 2–10 cm; stolons pale, often rooting and leafy at nodes; rhizome slender, fleshy. Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–50 cm; rhizomes thick, fleshy.
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, 2–8, ascending to erect;

stipules linear-lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, margins entire, sometimes distally glandular, apex acute;

petiole 5–25 cm, densely pubescent;

blade unlobed, narrowly ovate to narrowly deltate, 3.5–7 × 2–5 cm, base cordate, margins uniformly crenate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely pubescent.

Peduncles

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

3–25 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

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 ciliate or eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm;

petals light to dark blue- or dark purple-violet or reddish purple, lowest and sometimes lateral 2 purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest bearded or beardless, 15–25 mm, spur same color as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

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

Capsules

ovoid, 5–9 mm, glabrous.

ellipsoid, 5–12 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

beige to bronze, 1–1.5 mm.

beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 54.

Viola macloskeyi

Viola novae-angliae

Phenology Flowering Mar–Sep. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Bogs, wet meadows, seeps, lake margins, stream banks, floodplains, swampy woods, mesic roadside depressions, often among mosses Gravelly, wet, rocky shores of lakes and streams, meadows
Elevation 0–3600 m (0–11800 ft) 0–100 m (0–300 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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[BONAP county map]
from FNA
ME; MI; MN; WI; MB; NB; ON; QC
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[BONAP county map]
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.)

L. E. McKinney (1992) considered Viola novae-angliae to be a variety of V. sororia; N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) treated it as a distinct species. H. E. Ballard and S. C. Gawler (1994) also considered V. novae-angliae distinct and suggested it might be a hybrid between V. sagittata and V. sororia. Viola novae-angliae appears to have a close affinity with V. sororia; we recognize them here as separate species.

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 137. FNA vol. 6, p. 139.
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. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. lithion, V. lobata, V. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, V. nephrophylla, 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 V. septentrionalis var. grisea, V. sororia var. grisea, V. sororia var. novae-angliae
Name authority F. E. Lloyd: Erythea 3: 74. (1895) House: Rhodora 6: 226, plate 59. (1904)
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