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

cream or cream-white or pale or striped or striped cream violet, creamy violet, striped cream violet, striped white violet, violette strièe

Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 1.5–25 cm. Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 10–60 cm.
Stems

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

1–4, ascending to erect (often declining during anthesis), glabrous or pubescent, on caudex from fleshy 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 and cauline;

basal: 2–6;

stipules lanceolate to narrowly deltate, margins laciniate, apex acute;

petiole 3–6 cm, glabrous or puberulent;

blade ovate to reniform, 2–7 × 1–2.5 cm, base cordate, margins crenate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex obtuse to acute, surfaces glabrous or pubescent;

cauline similar to basal except: stipules lanceolate, margins laciniate;

petiole 3–7 cm;

distal blades ovate to deltate, 1–6 × 1–4 cm, base cordate, apex acuminate to acute.

Peduncles

5–12 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

Flowers

sepals lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 2–3 mm;

petals white or cream on both surfaces, without yellow patch basally, lowest and usually lateral 2 purple-veined, lateral 2 and sometimes all densely bearded, lowest 10–18 mm, spur white, gibbous to elongated, 3–6 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.

Capsules

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

ellipsoid, 6–7 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

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

beige to bronze, 1.5–3 mm.

2n

= 12.

= 20.

Viola purpurea

Viola striata

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun.
Habitat Riparian or alluvial woods, floodplains in silty loam, meadows
Elevation 40–1000 m (100–3300 ft)
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; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; VA; WI; 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.)

Dead, long-persistent stems of Viola striata are often present the following season. In flower, the plants are often mistaken for V. canadensis because the petals are whitish (H. E. Ballard 1992).

Viola striata reportedly hybridizes with V. labradorica (= V. ×eclipes H. E. Ballard), V. rostrata (= V. ×brauniae Grover ex Cooperrider), V. walteri var. appalachiensis (= V. ×wujekii H. E. Ballard), and V. walteri var. walteri (= V. ×cooperrideri H. E. Ballard).

(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
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 150. FNA vol. 6, p. 159.
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. 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. 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
Synonyms Lophion striatum, V. conspersa var. masonii
Name authority Kellogg: Pacific (San Francisco), 2 Feb. 1855: unnumb. (1855) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 3: 290. (1789)
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