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

early blue violet, wavy-leaf violet, wood violet

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–15 cm; rhizome slender, becoming thick and fleshy with age. Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 10–30 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, 2–11, ascending to erect;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;

petiole 5–25 cm, glabrous or pubescent;

mid-season leaf blades incised or lobed throughout, earliest leaf blades lobed (plants homophyllous), similar to mid-season blades, blade 5–9(–16)-lobed, sinuses usually narrower, shallower toward leaf base, middle and lateral blade lobes differ in width and/or shape, middle lobes narrowly deltate to narrowly elliptic, lateral lobes narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or falcate, 1–11 × 1–12 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins entire or crenate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, mucronulate, surfaces usually pubescent throughout or on veins.

Peduncles

3–25 cm, usually glabrous.

5–15 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 1–2 mm;

petals light to dark blue-violet on both surfaces, lower 3 and upper 2 sometimes purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest sometimes bearded, 15–25 mm, spur color same as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

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

Capsules

ovoid, 5–10 mm, glabrous.

ellipsoid, 8–12 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

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

beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.

2n

= 54.

= 54.

Viola nephrophylla

Viola subsinuata

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 Rich woods
Elevation 100–3000 m (300–9800 ft) 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
CT; DC; DE; GA; IL; KY; MA; MD; MI; NC; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON
[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.)

L. E. McKinney (1992) described the misconceptions surrounding Viola subsinuata that many came to think of as the heterophyllous V. palmata, whereas V. subsinuata is homophyllous. As E. Brainerd (1910, 1921) pointed out, heterophylly versus homophylly is an important and steadfast character difference in acaulescent Viola species. N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) chose not to recognize V. subsinuata, suggesting that it represented a hybrid or introgressant. H. E. Ballard (2000) and A. Haines (2011) both recognized V. subsinuata as a species.

Viola subsinuata is a state historical species in Rhode Island, where it was last documented in 1941 (R. W. Enser, http://rinhs.org/wp-content/uploads/ri_rare_plants_2007.pdf).

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 139. FNA vol. 6, p. 159.
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. sagittata, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. septemloba, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. striata, 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. emarginata var. subsinuata, V. palmata var. angelliae
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 3: 144. (1896) (Greene) Greene: Pittonia 4: 4. (1899)
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