Viola palmata
Viola septemloba
early blue violet, three-lobe violet, three-lobed violet, trilobed violet, wood violet
southern coastal violet
basal, 2–3, ascending to erect;
stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;
petiole 1–20 cm, glabrous or pubescent;
earliest leaf blades unlobed, mid-season blades 3–9-lobed, lobes sometimes appearing petiolate and sometimes further lobed;
earliest leaf blades reniform to ovate, mid-season blades with middle lobes usually ovate or elliptic to widely obovate, sometimes narrowly elliptic, narrowly ovate, lanceolate, or spatulate to narrowly obovate, lateral lobes elliptic, obdeltate, or spatulate to falcate, smaller lobes similar, 1–14 × 1–10 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins serrate or entire, usually ciliate, apex acute, rounded, blunt, or obtuse, surfaces glabrous or pubescent throughout or along veins.
basal, 5 or 6, prostrate to ascending;
stipules linearlanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;
petiole 1.5–7 cm, usually glabrous;
earliest leaf blades ± ovate, sometimes 3-lobed, mid-season blades 7–9-lobed, 1–9 × 1–10 cm, base broadly cordate to cordate, middle lobes narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, spatulate, or obovate, (rarely linear), lateral lobes lanceolate or spatulate to falcate, margins usually entire, sometimes serrate, sometimes with narrowly deltate or falcate appendages or teeth, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute to mucronulate, surfaces usually glabrous.
3–13 cm, glabrous or pubescent.
2–20 cm, usually glabrous.
sepals lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;
petals violet on both surfaces, lower 3 white basally, lower 3 and upper 2 sometimes purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, spur sometimes bearded, lowest 15–25 mm, spur white, gibbous, 2–3 mm;
style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate to ascending peduncles.
sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;
petals light to dark blue-violet on both surfaces, lower 3 and sometimes upper 2 white basally, lower 3 darker violet-veined, lateral 2 densely bearded, spur sometimes bearded, lowest 15–25 mm, spur usually lilac, sometimes whitish, gibbous, 2–3 mm;
style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on ascending to erect peduncles.
ellipsoid, 5–15 mm, glabrous.
ellipsoid, 11–14 mm, glabrous.
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.
beige, mottled to bronze, 2–3 mm.
= 54.
= 54.
Viola palmata
Viola septemloba
N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) presented evidence based on seed coat micromorphology that some plants known as Viola palmata are hybrids between plants with lobed and unlobed leaves and believed the type specimen to be hybrid in origin. He chose not to recognize the name V. palmata, choosing instead to recognize V. triloba. If the type specimen does represent a hybrid, Gil-Ad would be correct in recognizing V. triloba. Because the purity of the type specimen cannot be ascertained, we consider V. palmata the most appropriate name for this taxon. We acknowledge the presence of hybrids between lobed and unlobed plants; such hybrids obscure lines of demarcation. Some herbarium specimens may represent such hybrids; we feel most do not.
L. E. McKinney (1992) described the nomenclatural history of Viola palmata. Homophylly versus heterophylly differentiates V. palmata from V. subsinuata, the homophyllous violet most often called V. palmata. We know that the taxon described by Linnaeus was heterophyllous, with some undivided leaf blades.
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
For years this heterophyllous species was either ignored or included in Viola palmata. C. L. Pollard (1898) and E. Brainerd (1910, 1921) treated it as V. insignis Pollard, a later homonym.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Petioles, leaf surfaces, and peduncles usually pubescent, rarely glabrous; apex of middle leaf lobe acute; plants of dry to mesic habitats. | var. palmata |
1. Petioles, leaf surfaces, and peduncles usually glabrous, rarely pubescent; apex of middle leaf lobe rounded, blunt, or obtuse; plants of wet ground. | var. heterophylla |
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