Viola nephrophylla
Viola septemloba
kidney-leaf violet, Leconte violet, northern bog violet, violette néphrophylle
southern coastal violet
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, 5 or 6, prostrate to ascending;
stipules linearlanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;
petiole 1.5–7 cm, usually glabrous;
earliest leaf blades ± ovate, sometimes 3-lobed, mid-season blades 7–9-lobed, 1–9 × 1–10 cm, base broadly cordate to cordate, middle lobes narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, spatulate, or obovate, (rarely linear), lateral lobes lanceolate or spatulate to falcate, margins usually entire, sometimes serrate, sometimes with narrowly deltate or falcate appendages or teeth, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute to mucronulate, surfaces usually glabrous.
3–25 cm, usually glabrous.
2–20 cm, usually glabrous.
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 0.5–1 mm;
petals light to dark blue-violet on both surfaces, lower 3 and sometimes upper 2 white basally, lower 3 darker violet-veined, lateral 2 densely bearded, spur sometimes bearded, lowest 15–25 mm, spur usually lilac, sometimes whitish, gibbous, 2–3 mm;
style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on ascending to erect peduncles.
ovoid, 5–10 mm, glabrous.
ellipsoid, 11–14 mm, glabrous.
beige to brown or dark brown, 1.5–2.5 mm.
beige, mottled to bronze, 2–3 mm.
= 54.
= 54.
Viola nephrophylla
Viola septemloba
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.)
For years this heterophyllous species was either ignored or included in Viola palmata. C. L. Pollard (1898) and E. Brainerd (1910, 1921) treated it as V. insignis Pollard, a later homonym.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
PNW Herbaria, 
SW CO Wildflowers 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
LA Plants
