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goosefoot yellow violet, mountain yellow violet, pine violet

field pansy, violette de Rafinesque, wild pansy

Habit 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 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

2.9–11.5 cm, puberulent or canescent.

1–4.5 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

Flowers

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.

sepals ovate to lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–2 mm;

petals white or cream to pale bluish violet on both surfaces, dark purple-veined, lateral 2 longer than sepals, bearded, lowest 8–10 mm, spur white to blue-violet, gibbous, 1–1.5 mm, shorter than or equaling sepal auricles;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.

Capsules

ovoid, 3.5–7 mm, puberulent.

ellipsoid to oblong, 4–7 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

medium to dark brown, 2–3.5 mm.

beige to bronze, 0.3–1.5 mm.

2n

= 12.

= 34.

Viola pinetorum

Viola bicolor

Phenology Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Prairies, open woodlands, fields, pastures, roadsides, lawns, waste ground
Elevation 0–3000 m (0–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; AZ; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; WV; ON; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Viola bicolor is the only pansy native to North America (V. B. Baird 1942; J. Clausen et al. 1964; A. E. Radford et al. 1968) and is the only annual Viola species that produces cleistogamous flowers (Baird; A. Gershoy 1934). Roots of V. bicolor have the odor of wintergreen when crushed (W. J. Hayden and J. Clough 1990).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
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. 144. FNA vol. 6, p. 122.
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. 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
V. adunca, V. affinis, V. arvensis, V. bakeri, V. beckwithii, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
V. pinetorum var. grisea, V. pinetorum var. pinetorum
Synonyms V. purpurea var. pinetorum V. kitaibeliana var. rafinesquei, V. rafinesquei
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 2: 14. (1889) Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 175. (1813)
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