Viola nephrophylla |
Viola canina |
|
---|---|---|
kidney-leaf violet, Leconte violet, northern bog violet, violette néphrophylle |
dog violet, heath dog-violet |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–15 cm; rhizome slender, becoming thick and fleshy with age. | Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 2–40 cm. |
Stems | 1–5, ascending to erect, glabrous, on caudex from subligneous rhizome. |
|
Leaves | basal, 4–7, ascending to erect; stipules lanceolate, margins entire or fimbriate, apex acute; petiole 2–25 cm, usually glabrous; blade usually grayish green or purplish green abaxially, unlobed, ovate, reniform, or broadly reniform to orbiculate, 1–7 × 1–7 cm, somewhat fleshy, base broadly cordate or reniform to ± truncate, margins crenate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute to obtuse or rounded, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely sparsely pubescent. |
cauline; stipules linear to lanceolate, margins ± lacerate to subentire, points often gland-tipped, apex acute; petiole 0.3–2.5 cm, glabrous; blade ovate to narrowly ovate, 1.2–5.2 × 1–2.7 cm, base cordate or deeply cordate to truncate, margins crenate, eciliate, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely pubescent on veins, adaxial surface glabrous or sparsely pubescent. |
Peduncles | 3–25 cm, usually glabrous. |
1–10 cm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. |
Flowers | sepals ovate, margins usually eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm; petals deep bluish violet on both surfaces, lower 3 white basally and darker violet-veined, lateral 2 bearded, upper 2 sometimes sparsely bearded, lowest densely bearded or beardless, 10–28 mm, spur same color as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm; style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on erect to ascending peduncles. |
sepals lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 2–3 mm; petals usually blue- to gray-violet on both surfaces, rarely white, white basally, lower 3 dark violet-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 15–25 mm, spur light yellow to light green or white, gibbous to usually elongated, 3–5 mm; style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
Capsules | ovoid, 5–10 mm, glabrous. |
ovoid, 7.5–9 mm, glabrous. |
Seeds | beige to brown or dark brown, 1.5–2.5 mm. |
light to dark brown; 1.7–2.1 mm. |
2n | = 54. |
= 40. |
Viola nephrophylla |
Viola canina |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jan–Sep. | Flowering May–Jul. |
Habitat | Wet habitats in saturated soil in prairies, pastures, bogs, fens, sedge meadows, rocky shores of lakes and streams, limestone outcrops, gravelly calcareous stream beds | Sunny to shady, dry to slightly moist ground, heath lands, grazed or mown grassland, dunes, rock ledges, open woodland, disturbed areas (roadsides, railway banks, gravel pits), littoral vegetation of lakes and streams |
Elevation | 100–3000 m (300–9800 ft) | 20–300 m (100–1000 ft) |
Distribution |
AR; AZ; CA; CO; CT; IA; ID; IL; KS; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; SD; TX; UT; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT
|
Greenland; Europe; Asia |
Discussion | Viola nephrophylla has the widest distribution in North America of any of the acaulescent blue violets. There is some question whether the species we now know as Viola nephrophylla fits with the protologue and type specimen(s). McKinney examined the type designated by Greene; it appears that what most botanists have called V. nephrophylla may be an undescribed taxon. N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) believed Greene’s type contained plants that were genetically impure based on seed coat micromorphology and suggested the specimens might be a mixture of both orthospecies and introgressants. Viola mccabeiana was described by M. S. Baker in 1940 from collections made in British Columbia. Later, Baker (1949b) discussed the reasons why the name V. mccabeiana needed to be abandoned. C. L. Hitchcock et al. (1955–1969, vol. 3) treated V. mccabeiana as synonymous with V. nephrophylla var. cognata. While Viola mccabeiana is recognized in Canada (L. Brouillet et al., http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/), we believe it is best included within V. nephrophylla. Viola nephrophylla reportedly hybridizes with V. cucullata (= V. ×insessa House), V. sororia var. sororia (= V. ×napae House), and V. affinis (= V. ×subaffinis House). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Viola canina was possibly introduced in Greenland (T. Marcussen and T. Karlsson et al. 2010). Hybrids of Viola canina are known with the European species V. mirabilis Linnaeus, V. pumila Chaix, V. reichenbachiana Jordan ex Boreau, V. riviniana Reichenbach, V. rupestris F. W. Schmidt (both subspecies), V. stagnina Kitaibel, and V. uliginosa Besser. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 139. | FNA vol. 6, p. 127. |
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. arizonica, V. austiniae, V. cognata, V. crassula, V. galacifolia, V. lunellii, V. mccabeiana, V. nephrophylla var. arizonica, V. nephrophylla var. cognata, V. peramoena, V. pratincola, V. prionosepala, V. retusa, V. subjuncta, V. vagula | V. canina var. montana, V. montana, V. nemoralis |
Name authority | Greene: Pittonia 3: 144. (1896) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 935. (1753) |
Web links |
|