The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

kidney-leaf violet, Leconte violet, northern bog violet, violette néphrophylle

blue marsh violet, marsh blue or northern bog or marsh or blue marsh violet, marsh blue violet, violette cucullée

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–15 cm; rhizome slender, becoming thick and fleshy with age. Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–20 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy.
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.

basal, 4–8, ascending to erect;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;

petiole 6–20 cm, usually glabrous;

blade unlobed, ovate to reniform, 1.5–11 × 1–9 cm, base reniform to cordate, margins crenate to serrate, ciliate, apex acute or obtuse to slightly caudate, surfaces glabrous, rarely pubescent.

Peduncles

3–25 cm, usually glabrous.

7–25 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

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 ciliate or eciliate, auricles 3–6 mm;

petals light to dark blue-violet to violet on both surfaces, upper 2 and lateral 2 darker basally, lateral 2 densely bearded, lowest white basally, dark purple-veined, 9–13 mm, spur color same as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on erect peduncles.

Capsules

ovoid, 5–10 mm, glabrous.

ellipsoid to ± ovoid, 10–15 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

beige to brown or dark brown, 1.5–2.5 mm.

beige, mottled to bronze, 1–2 mm.

2n

= 54.

= 54.

Viola nephrophylla

Viola cucullata

Phenology Flowering Jan–Sep. Flowering Apr–Jun.
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 Open or wooded wet areas, seeps, springs, swamps, marshes, streamsides
Elevation 100–3000 m (300–9800 ft) 0–2000 m (0–6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
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
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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 cucullata reportedly hybridizes with V. sororia (= V. ×bissellii House), V. brittoniana (= V. ×notabilis E. P. Bicknell), and V. sagittata var. sagittata (= V. ×porteriana House).

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 139. FNA vol. 6, p. 128.
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. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, 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. 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. 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. 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. cucullata var. leptosepala, V. cucullata var. macrotis, V. cucullata var. microtitis, V. dicksonii, V. leptosepala, V. macrotis
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 3: 144. (1896) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 3: 288. (1789)
Web links