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goosefoot violet, mountain violet, pine violet, purple-mark yellow violet

early blue violet, three-lobe violet, three-lobed violet, trilobed violet, wood violet

Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 1.5–25 cm. Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 6–50 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy.
Stems

1–5(–7), decumbent or spreading to erect, leafy proximally and distally, ± glabrous, puberulent, canescent, or tomentose, on caudex from subligneous rhizome.

Leaves

basal and cauline;

basal: 1–6;

stipules adnate to petiole, forming 2 linear, membranous wings, wing margins entire or laciniate, each wing with lanceolate to ± deltate projection, margins entire or laciniate, apex acute to long-acuminate;

petiole 1.8–14.5 cm, puberulent to tomentose;

blade purplish, purple-tinted, or gray-green abaxially, gray, green, or gray-green adaxially, sometimes shiny adaxially, ovate, orbiculate, oblong, deltate, or lanceolate, 0.8–5.3 × 0.4–4.1 cm, often fleshy, base cordate, subcordate, truncate, or attenuate, oblique or not, margins usually ± crenate, serrate, dentate, or coarsely or irregularly repand-dentate, sometimes entire, usually ciliate, apex acute to obtuse or rounded, surfaces glabrous, puberulent, or tomentose;

cauline similar to basal except: stipules linear, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or ± oblong to ovate, margins entire, lacerate, or laciniate, usually ciliate, apex sometimes divided into 2–3 filiform processes or obtuse;

petiole 0.3–19.7 cm, glabrous or puberulent;

blade ovate, oblong, elliptic, deltate, or lanceolate, 0.9–5.2 × 0.2–2.9 cm, length 0.8–7.1 times width, margins crenate, serrate, dentate, repand-denticulate, undulate-denticulate, sinuate, undulate, or entire, abaxial surface puberulent, canescent, or tomentose, adaxial surface glabrous, sparsely pubescent, puberulent, canescent, or tomentose.

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.

Peduncles

3–13 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

Flowers

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.

Capsules

ovoid to ± spherical, 4–7 mm, puberulent.

ellipsoid, 5–15 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

light to dark brown or mottled gray and brown, 2–3.1 mm.

beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.

2n

= 12.

= 54.

Viola purpurea

Viola palmata

Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 7 (7 in the flora).

Varieties of Viola purpurea are variable and intergrade. All are found in California; six occur in other western states, one in Mexico, and one in British Columbia. Mature plants are needed for determination.

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

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.)

Key
1. Basal and cauline leaf blade surfaces tomentose
var. aurea
1. Basal and cauline leaf blade surfaces ± glabrous, canescent, or puberulent
→ 2
2. Stems mostly buried, not much elongated by end of season; plants 1.5–9(–12) cm
→ 3
2. Stems usually not buried, usually elongated by end of season; plants 3–25 cm
→ 4
3. Cauline leaf margins usually entire, sometimes sinuate; basal leaf margins ± crenate to irregularly repand-dentate or entire.
var. integrifolia
3. Cauline leaf margins usually coarsely crenate or dentate, sometimes ± serrate or ± entire; basal leaf margins coarse-serrate or irregularly dentate or crenate with 2–4 rounded teeth per side
var. venosa
4. Basal leaf base cordate or truncate
var. dimorpha
4. Basal leaf base usually attenuate, sometimes subcordate or truncate
→ 5
5. Cauline leaf blade length 3.2–7.1 times width, margins usually undulate-denticulate, sometimes entire
var. mesophyta
5. Cauline leaf blade length 1–3 times width, margins with 3–4(–5) pointed or rounded teeth per side or crenate-serrate
→ 6
6. Basal leaf blade margins irregularly crenate, without pointed or rounded teeth; adaxial surface often shiny.
var. purpurea
6. Basal leaf blade margins dentate-serrate with 4–5(–6) pointed or rounded teeth per side; adaxial surface not shiny.
var. mohavensis
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
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 150. FNA vol. 6, p. 141.
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. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, 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. 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. purpurea var. aurea, V. purpurea var. dimorpha, V. purpurea var. integrifolia, V. purpurea var. mesophyta, V. purpurea var. mohavensis, V. purpurea var. purpurea, V. purpurea var. venosa
V. palmata var. heterophylla, V. palmata var. palmata
Synonyms V. cucullata var. palmata
Name authority Kellogg: Pacific (San Francisco), 2 Feb. 1855: unnumb. (1855) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 933. (1753)
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