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

arrow-leaf violet, arrowhead violet

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–15 cm; rhizome slender, becoming thick and fleshy with age. Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–50 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 2–13 cm, glabrous or pubescent;

middle and lateral blade lobes differ in width and/or shape, earliest blades ovate to elliptic, mid-season blades ovate, elliptic, narrowly elliptic to narrowly deltate, 1–8 × 1–5 cm, incised or lobed at base only, base sagittate or hastate, truncate, attenuate, or ± cordate, margins crenate or serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or pubescent.

Peduncles

3–25 cm, usually glabrous.

3–15 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 to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 2–3 mm;

petals light to dark violet on both surfaces, lower 3 white basally, lowest dark violet-veined, lateral 2 densely bearded, spur on lowest petal occasionally bearded, lowest 10–15 mm, spur light to dark violet, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate, ascending, or erect peduncles.

Capsules

ovoid, 5–10 mm, glabrous.

ellipsoid, 10–14 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

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

beige, mottled to bronze, 1.3–2.5 mm.

2n

= 54.

Viola nephrophylla

Viola sagittata

Phenology Flowering Jan–Sep.
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
Elevation 100–3000 m (300–9800 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
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[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.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Mid-season leaf blades: base sagittate, hastate, or ± cordate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent; sepal margins eciliate.
var. sagittata
1. Mid-season leaf blades: base truncate, attenuate, slightly sagittate or hastate, or ± cordate, surfaces usually densely pubescent; sepal margins ciliate.
var. ovata
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 139. FNA vol. 6, p. 155.
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. 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. 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
V. sagittata var. ovata, V. sagittata var. sagittata
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
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 3: 144. (1896) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 3: 287. (1789)
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