Viola odorata |
Viola adunca |
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English violet, garden violet, sweet blue violet, sweet violet, violette odorante |
Cascades early blue violet, common periwinkle, early blue violet, hook-spur violet, hookedspur violet, large periwinkle, sand violet, western dog violet, wild dog violet |
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Habit | Plants perennial, acaulescent, stoloniferous, 4–12 cm; stolons green, often rooting at nodes and forming leafy rosettes; rooted rosettes often develop into erect, rhizomatous caudex from which new stolons are produced; rhizome thick, fleshy. | Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 1.8–30(–35) cm. | ||||
Stems | 1–5, erect, ascending, or decumbent, sometimes later reclining to nearly prostrate, glabrous or puberulent, on caudex from subligneous rhizome. |
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Leaves | basal (and from stolons), 5–10, ascending to erect; stipules lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, margins fimbriate, projections gland-tipped, apex acute; petiole 2–17 cm, puberulent; blade unlobed, ovate to orbiculate, 1.5–7 × 1.5–5 cm, base cordate, margins crenate, ciliate, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces puberulent. |
basal and cauline; basal: 1–4; stipules linear to linear-lanceolate, margins entire or laciniate with gland-tipped projections, apex acute to acuminate; petiole 0.5–13.5 cm, glabrous or puberulent; blade usually ovate or ovate-deltate to ovate-orbiculate, sometimes ± reniform or oblong, 0.5–6.9 × 0.4–5 cm, base cordate, subcordate, truncate, or attenuate, usually decurrent on petiole, margins crenate to crenulate or entire, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous or sparsely to densely puberulent; cauline similar to basal except: stipule margins lacerate to laciniate; petiole 0.5–6.5 cm; blade 0.6–5.5 × 0.4–4.7 cm. |
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Peduncles | 4–15 cm, puberulent. |
1.7–13.8 cm, glabrous or puberulent. |
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Flowers | sepals narrow to broadly lanceolate, margins ciliate, auricles 3–4 mm; petals deep to pale blue-violet, pale blue, or white on both surfaces, usually white basally, lateral 2 sparsely to densely bearded, lowest usually purple-veined, 12–22 mm, spur usually same color as petals, elongated, 5–7 mm; style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate or ascending peduncles. |
sepals lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles not enlarged in fruit, 0.5–2 mm; petals light- to deep- to lavender-violet on both surfaces, rarely white, lower 3 usually white basally, dark violet-veined, lateral 2 (and sometimes upper 2) bearded, lowest 7–17(–23) mm, spur purple to violet or white, elongated, 5–7 mm, tip straight or pointed, curved up or lateral; style head sparsely to densely bearded, sometimes beardless; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
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Capsules | sometimes purple-flecked, ovoid, 5–8 mm, puberulent. |
short-ovoid, 6–11 mm, glabrous. |
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Seeds | brown, 3–4 mm. |
dark brown to olive-black, 1.5–2 mm. |
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2n | = 20. |
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Viola odorata |
Viola adunca |
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Phenology | Flowering Jan–May. | |||||
Habitat | Lawns, roadsides, clearings, riparian habitats, parks, urban areas | |||||
Elevation | 0–1700 m (0–5600 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA; CT; ID; IL; MA; ME; MI; NC; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; UT; WA; WI; BC; NS; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Australia]
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AK; AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NM; NV; NY; OR; SD; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT
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Discussion | Viola odorata occurs in small colonies; individual plants are interconnected by stolons. The flowers of Viola odorata are noted for their fragrance; some plants are more fragrant than others. It is native to Eurasia and assumed to be introduced in North America where it is usually found in areas associated with human habitation, including parks, lawns, and roadsides. A substantial industry revolved around the commercial production of violets in England, France, and the United States from prior to 1895 and into the 1900s (R. E. Coombs 2003). Viola odorata is sometimes found in remote locations not easily explained by anthropogenic influence, for example, Clearwater Mountains, Idaho. It is available through the nursery trade and is cultivated as a garden plant and occasionally reported as an escape. Viola odorata is grown in southern France for essential oils used in perfumes, flavorings, and toiletries, and also for the production of the sweet, violet-colored liqueur called parfait amour (V. H. Heywood 1978). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). Viola adunca is polymorphic with over 50 named taxa. G. D. McPherson and J. G. Packer (1974) reported that diploid, triploid, and tetraploid races of V. adunca occur in Canada and northwestern United States. They found that diploid and tetraploid chromosome races can be distinguished morphologically based on style beards and on the size of guard cells and pollen grains and recommended taxonomic recognition of both races. In diploid races, the style projections are more or less cylindrical and about one-sixth the width of the style; in tetraploid races they are short-conical or globular, and about one-tenth or less than the width of the style beard. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 140. | FNA vol. 6, p. 119. | ||||
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Lophion aduncum, V. canina var. adunca | |||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 934. (1753) | Smith: in A. Rees, Cycl. 37: Viola no. 63 | ||||
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