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kidney-leaf or kidney-shape or white violet, kidney-leaf violet, kidney-leaf white violet, northern white violet, violette réniforme, white violet

field pansy, violette de Rafinesque, wild pansy

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–30 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy.
Leaves

basal, 1–5, prostrate to ascending;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire to sparsely laciniate, apex acute;

petiole 3–10 cm, strigose, sericeous, or villous, occasionally glabrous;

blade unlobed, reniform or ovate to broadly ovate or orbiculate, 1.5–3.5 × 2–5 cm, base cordate to broadly cordate, margins serrate-crenate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded, occasionally acuminate, surfaces usually sparsely to densely strigose, sericeous, or villous throughout or along veins, sometimes glabrous.

Peduncles

3–8 cm, puberulent.

1–4.5 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

Flowers

sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins usually eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm;

petals white on both surfaces, lower 3 purple-veined, all beardless or lower 3 sparsely bearded, lowest 8–10 mm, spur white, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate to ascending peduncles.

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 to ellipsoid, 5–8 mm, glabrous.

ellipsoid to oblong, 4–7 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

mottled beige to bronze, 1.5–2.2 mm.

beige to bronze, 0.3–1.5 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 34.

Viola renifolia

Viola bicolor

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Moist, often shaded alluvial or upland forests, shrub thickets, stream banks, swamp forests, bogs, fens Prairies, open woodlands, fields, pastures, roadsides, lawns, waste ground
Elevation 200–3000 m (700–9800 ft) 0–3000 m (0–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; CT; IA; ID; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NY; PA; SD; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT
[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

Nonflowering plants of Viola renifolia and V. epipsila appear similar. The abaxial leaf surfaces of V. renifolia usually have a few short, straight hairs on the main veins; leaves of V. epipsila are usually glabrous (C. Parker, pers. comm.). Viola renifolia can appear similar to V. macloskeyi. V. B. Baird (1942) wrote that V. renifolia sometimes produces ascending stems. H. A. Gleason and A. Cronquist (1991) noted that if stolons were present, they were short and racemelike with cleistogamous flowers. The ascending stems and stolons mentioned by these authors may or may not be different phases of the same structure.

(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.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 153. 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. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, V. purpurea, V. quercetorum, 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
Synonyms V. blanda var. renifolia, V. brainerdii, V. mistassinica, V. renifolia var. brainerdii V. kitaibeliana var. rafinesquei, V. rafinesquei
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 288. (1870) Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 175. (1813)
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