Flora of North America species comparison

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Viola odorata

Viola guadalupensis

English violet, garden violet, sweet blue violet, sweet violet, violette odorante

Guadalupe Mountains violet, Guadalupe violet
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, 1–10 cm.
Stems

1–5, decumbent to erect, leafy proximally and distally, glabrous, on caudex from fleshy rhizome.
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.

cauline;

stipules lanceolate to ovate- or oblong-lanceolate or linear, margins sparingly glandular-fimbriate, apex acute;

petiole 2–6 cm, glabrous;

blade ovate to ovate-deltate or ovate-lanceolate, 1.2–2.4 × 0.7–1.3 cm, base broadly cuneate to rounded or truncate, margins entire or with 1–3 crenations on proximal 1/2, eciliate, apex acute to rounded, surfaces glabrous, sometimes with a few short hairs on veins abaxially.
Peduncles

4–15 cm, puberulent.

3.5–6 cm, glabrous.
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 to linear-lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1.5 mm;

petals deep lemon-yellow adaxially, upper 2 reddish brown abaxially, lateral 2 and lowest dark brown-veined basally, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 7–11 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 1–1.4 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers absent.
Capsules

sometimes purple-flecked, ovoid, 5–8 mm, puberulent.

ovoid, 3–4.5 mm, glabrous.
Seeds

brown, 3–4 mm.

light brown, ± 2 mm.
2n

= 20.

= 24.

Viola odorata

Viola guadalupensis
Phenology Flowering Jan–May. Flowering May.
Habitat Lawns, roadsides, clearings, riparian habitats, parks, urban areas Openings and narrow ledges on limestone rock faces
Elevation 0–1700 m (0–5600 ft) 2600 m (8500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
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]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Of conservation concern.

Viola guadalupensis is known only from the eastern rim of the Guadalupe Mountains in Culberson County. Powell and Wauer noted that it is the only yellow-flowered violet known in the Guadalupe Mountains and appears to be related to V. nuttallii and V. vallicola. K. W. Allred (2008) stated that a report of this species in New Mexico by J. T. Kartesz and C. A. Meacham (1999) requires verification. K. Haskins (pers. comm.) reported that experiments are currently being conducted to propagate plants of V. guadalupensis via cell tissue culture.

Chloroplast (trnL-F spacer) and low-copy nuclear gene (GPI) phylogenies indicate that Viola guadalupensis is an alloploid that originated through hybridization between an unidentified member of subsect. Canadenses (the paternal parent) and a member of the V. nuttallii complex

(the maternal parent), of sect. Chamaemelanium (T. Marcussen et al. 2011). Evidence reported by these authors from a fossil-calibrated relaxed clock dating analysis showed the estimated maximum age of V. guadalupensis to be (5.7–)8.6(–11.6) million years.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 140. FNA vol. 6, p. 132.
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. nephrophylla, V. novae-angliae, V. nuttallii, V. ocellata, 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. 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. subsinuata, V. tomentosa, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. tripartita, V. umbraticola, V. utahensis, V. vallicola, V. villosa, V. walteri
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 934. (1753) A. M. Powell & Wauer: Sida 14: 1, fig. 1. (1990)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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