Viola odorata |
Viola pinetorum |
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English violet, garden violet, sweet blue violet, sweet violet, violette odorante |
goosefoot yellow violet, mountain yellow violet, pine 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, 3–18 cm, cespitose or not. | ||||
Stems | 1–3, prostrate or erect, leafy proximally and distally, puberulent or canescent to gray-tomentose, sometimes glabrous, 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 adnate to petiole forming 2 linear-lanceolate wings, margins entire or laciniate, apex of each wing free, tips usually filamentous; petiole 2.3–9.5 cm, puberulent or canescent; blade purple-tinted abaxially or not, usually linear to narrowly lanceolate, oblanceolate or obovate, or lanceolate-elliptic, rarely ovate, 1.3–5 × 0.3–2.5 cm, base attenuate, margins usually lacerate, dentate, or serrate, sometimes entire, usually undulate, ciliate, apex acute, mucronulate, surfaces puberulent to canescent or gray-tomentose; cauline similar to basal except: stipules lanceolate, oblanceolate, or linear-oblong, margins entire or lacerate, apex acute to acuminate; petiole 0.9–8.3 cm; blade 2.8–9.6 × 0.3–1.4 cm, length 4–11 times width. |
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Peduncles | 4–15 cm, puberulent. |
2.9–11.5 cm, puberulent or canescent. |
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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, auricles 0.5–1 mm; petals deep lemon-yellow adaxially, upper 2 red- to purple-brown abaxially, lower 3 dark brown-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 5–12 mm, spur color same as petals, gibbous, 1.5–3 mm; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
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Capsules | sometimes purple-flecked, ovoid, 5–8 mm, puberulent. |
ovoid, 3.5–7 mm, puberulent. |
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Seeds | brown, 3–4 mm. |
medium to dark brown, 2–3.5 mm. |
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2n | = 20. |
= 12. |
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Viola odorata |
Viola pinetorum |
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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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CA
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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.) |
Flowers of Viola pinetorum have been observed to close up in late afternoon then fully reopen the following morning. Although E. O. Wooton and P. C. Standley (1915) reported Viola pinetorum from New Mexico, the plant was probably V. nuttallii. K. W. Allred (2008) noted that V. pinetorum occurs in California; he did not recognize it in New Mexico. Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (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. 144. | ||||
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | V. purpurea var. pinetorum | |||||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 934. (1753) | Greene: Pittonia 2: 14. (1889) | ||||
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