Viola odorata |
Viola glabella |
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English violet, garden violet, sweet blue violet, sweet violet, violette odorante |
pioneer violet, smooth yellow violet, stream or smooth yellow or yellow wood or wood or smooth yellow woodland violet, stream violet, violette glabre, yellow wood 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, 3–38 cm. |
Stems | 1–3, erect or prostrate, leafless proximally, leafy distally, glabrous or finely puberulent, on caudex from fleshy 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: 0–4(–7); stipules ovate to obovate, margins entire, crenate, or serrate, usually glandular, apex acute to obtuse; petiole 7–27.5 cm, glabrous or puberulent; blade usually reniform to ovate, sometimes orbiculate, 3.3–8.5 × 2–9.3 cm, base cordate, margins crenate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute to obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces glabrous or finely puberulent; cauline similar to basal except: usually restricted to distal ends of naked stems; stipules ovate to oblong, margins erose or subserrate, often glandular, apex acute to acuminate; petiole 0.2–2.9 cm, glabrous or finely puberulent; blade ovate to deltate, 1.4–5.7 × 0.8–4.7 cm, base cordate to truncate, margins crenate to ± serrate, ciliate (sometimes limited to proximal half), apex acute. |
Peduncles | 4–15 cm, puberulent. |
2–8 cm, glabrous or pubescent. |
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 linear-lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm; petals deep lemon-yellow on both surfaces, lower 3 and sometimes upper 2 brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 6–18 mm, spur yellow to greenish, gibbous, 0.5–2 mm; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
Capsules | sometimes purple-flecked, ovoid, 5–8 mm, puberulent. |
ovoid to ellipsoid, 7–13 mm, glabrous. |
Seeds | brown, 3–4 mm. |
light to dark brown, shiny, 2–2.2 mm. |
2n | = 20. |
= 24. |
Viola odorata |
Viola glabella |
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Phenology | Flowering Jan–May. | Flowering Mar–Aug. |
Habitat | Lawns, roadsides, clearings, riparian habitats, parks, urban areas | Damp, wet, or shady places in forests, stream banks |
Elevation | 0–1700 m (0–5600 ft) | 0–2600 m (0–8500 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; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC; Asia
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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.) |
Viola glabella is similar in overall appearance to V. pubescens. The cauline leaves are sometimes described as appearing only near the apex of the stem (P. A. Munz 1959), but often a leaf occurs from a node on the stem below the apex. Viola californica was described from collections made in Humboldt and Trinity counties, California, and may have arisen as a hybrid between V. glabella and V. lobata var. integrifolia. It is apparently limited to Abies concolor forests above 1520 m (M. S. Baker 1953). Study of V. californica is needed to determine if taxonomic recognition is warranted. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 140. | FNA vol. 6, p. 131. |
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. californica, V. canadensis var. sitchensis, V. glabella var. remotifolia | |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 934. (1753) | Nuttall: in J. Torrey and A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 142. (1838) |
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