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bird-foot violet

goosefoot yellow violet, mountain yellow violet, pine violet

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–30 cm; 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.

Leaves

basal, 4–10, ascending to erect, deeply divided;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, lacerate, or shallowly divided, apex acute;

petiole 2–12 cm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent;

blade 3–9(–10)-lobed, lobes similar in width and shape, spatulate, lanceolate ± linear, deltate, or ovate, 1–4 × 1–4 cm, base attenuate or broadly cordate to cuneate, margins entire, ciliate or eciliate, apex rounded to usually acute, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent on abaxial veins.

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.

Peduncles

5–12 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

2.9–11.5 cm, puberulent or canescent.

Flowers

sepals lanceolate, margins mostly ciliate, at least proximally, auricles 1–2 mm;

petals uniformly light to dark blue-violet on both surfaces or upper 2 darker adaxially, sometimes white, upper and lateral 2 often darker basally, lowest, seldom others, dark violet-veined, all beardless, lowest white basally, 12–24 mm, spur white, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers absent.

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.

Capsules

ellipsoid, 6–10 mm, glabrous.

ovoid, 3.5–7 mm, puberulent.

Seeds

beige, mottled to brown, 1.4–3 mm.

medium to dark brown, 2–3.5 mm.

2n

= 56.

= 12.

Viola pedata

Viola pinetorum

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; ON
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from FNA
CA
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Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(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.)

Key
1. Leaf blades 7–9-lobed, lobes spatulate, lanceolate, or ± linear, sometimes with narrowly deltate to falcate appendages toward apex.
var. pedata
1. Leaf blades 3–5(–10)-lobed, lobes deltate or ovate.
var. ranunculifolia
1. Plants 6.5–18 cm, not cespitose; basal leaf blades 0.7–2.5 cm wide, surfaces puberulent; peduncles 3.4–11.5 cm.
var. pinetorum
1. Plants 3–7(–9) cm, usually cespitose; basal leaf blades 0.3–1 cm wide, surfaces canescent, sometimes appearing gray-tomentose; peduncles 2.9–6(–7) cm.
var. grisea
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 143. FNA vol. 6, p. 144.
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. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palmata, V. palustris, 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. 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. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palmata, V. palustris, V. pedata, V. pedatifida, V. pedunculata, 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
Subordinate taxa
V. pedata var. pedata, V. pedata var. ranunculifolia
V. pinetorum var. grisea, V. pinetorum var. pinetorum
Synonyms V. purpurea var. pinetorum
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 933. (1753) Greene: Pittonia 2: 14. (1889)
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