Viola odorata |
Viola rotundifolia |
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English violet, garden violet, sweet blue violet, sweet violet, violette odorante |
early yellow or roundleaf yellow violet, round-leaf violet, roundleaf yellow violet, violette à feuilles rondes |
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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, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 1–20 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy. |
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, 2–5, prostrate to ascending, often overlapping basally; stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute; petiole 2–8 cm, pubescent; blade unlobed, orbiculate, reniform, or ovate, 2–12 × 1.5–9 cm, base cordate, margins crenate to serrate, sometimes glandular, ciliate or eciliate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces usually pubescent throughout or concentrated proximally on both surfaces. |
Peduncles | 4–15 cm, puberulent. |
1.5–7 cm, usually 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 lanceolate to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm; petals deep lemon-yellow on both surfaces, lower 3 brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 8–11 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 1–2 mm; style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate or partially subterranean rhizomes or on racemelike, nonrooting, and usually leafless branches growing from rhizome apex. |
Capsules | sometimes purple-flecked, ovoid, 5–8 mm, puberulent. |
ellipsoid, 5–10 mm, glabrous. |
Seeds | brown, 3–4 mm. |
beige, 1–2 mm. |
2n | = 20. |
= 12. |
Viola odorata |
Viola rotundifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering Jan–May. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Lawns, roadsides, clearings, riparian habitats, parks, urban areas | Rich montane forests and other mesic woodlands |
Elevation | 0–1700 m (0–5600 ft) | 200–2000 m (700–6600 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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CT; DE; GA; KY; MA; MD; ME; NC; NH; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WV; ON; QC
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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.) |
N. H. Russell (1955b) stated that Viola rotundifolia is a primitive member of Viola and probably one of the ancestral species of stemmed yellow violets of North America. Russell (1965) stated that morphologically, V. rotundifolia is one of the most invariable violets and suggested that its nearest relative is V. orbiculata. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 140. | FNA vol. 6, p. 155. |
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 934. (1753) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 150. (1803) |
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