Viola renifolia
Viola subsinuata
kidney-leaf or kidney-shape or white violet, kidney-leaf violet, kidney-leaf white violet, northern white violet, violette réniforme, white violet
early blue violet, wavy-leaf violet, wood violet
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.
basal, 2–11, ascending to erect;
stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;
petiole 5–25 cm, glabrous or pubescent;
mid-season leaf blades incised or lobed throughout, earliest leaf blades lobed (plants homophyllous), similar to mid-season blades, blade 5–9(–16)-lobed, sinuses usually narrower, shallower toward leaf base, middle and lateral blade lobes differ in width and/or shape, middle lobes narrowly deltate to narrowly elliptic, lateral lobes narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or falcate, 1–11 × 1–12 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins entire or crenate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, mucronulate, surfaces usually pubescent throughout or on veins.
3–8 cm, puberulent.
5–15 cm, glabrous or pubescent.
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 lanceolate to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm;
petals light to dark blue-violet on both surfaces, lower 3 and upper 2 sometimes purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest sometimes bearded, 15–25 mm, spur color same as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm;
style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate to ascending peduncles.
ovoid to ellipsoid, 5–8 mm, glabrous.
ellipsoid, 8–12 mm, glabrous.
mottled beige to bronze, 1.5–2.2 mm.
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.
= 24.
= 54.
Viola renifolia
Viola subsinuata
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.)
L. E. McKinney (1992) described the misconceptions surrounding Viola subsinuata that many came to think of as the heterophyllous V. palmata, whereas V. subsinuata is homophyllous. As E. Brainerd (1910, 1921) pointed out, heterophylly versus homophylly is an important and steadfast character difference in acaulescent Viola species. N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) chose not to recognize V. subsinuata, suggesting that it represented a hybrid or introgressant. H. E. Ballard (2000) and A. Haines (2011) both recognized V. subsinuata as a species.
Viola subsinuata is a state historical species in Rhode Island, where it was last documented in 1941 (R. W. Enser, http://rinhs.org/wp-content/uploads/ri_rare_plants_2007.pdf).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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