The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

early yellow or roundleaf yellow violet, round-leaf violet, roundleaf yellow violet, violette à feuilles rondes

arrow-leaf violet, arrowhead violet

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 1–20 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy. Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–50 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy.
Leaves

basal, 2–5, prostrate to ascending, often overlapping basally;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;

petiole 2–8 cm, pubescent;

blade unlobed, orbiculate, reniform, or ovate, 2–12 × 1.5–9 cm, base cordate, margins crenate to serrate, sometimes glandular, ciliate or eciliate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces usually pubescent throughout or concentrated proximally on both surfaces.

basal, 4–8, ascending to erect;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;

petiole 2–13 cm, glabrous or pubescent;

middle and lateral blade lobes differ in width and/or shape, earliest blades ovate to elliptic, mid-season blades ovate, elliptic, narrowly elliptic to narrowly deltate, 1–8 × 1–5 cm, incised or lobed at base only, base sagittate or hastate, truncate, attenuate, or ± cordate, margins crenate or serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or pubescent.

Peduncles

1.5–7 cm, usually pubescent.

3–15 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

Flowers

sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;

petals deep lemon-yellow on both surfaces, lower 3 brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 8–11 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 1–2 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate or partially subterranean rhizomes or on racemelike, nonrooting, and usually leafless branches growing from rhizome apex.

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

petals light to dark violet on both surfaces, lower 3 white basally, lowest dark violet-veined, lateral 2 densely bearded, spur on lowest petal occasionally bearded, lowest 10–15 mm, spur light to dark violet, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate, ascending, or erect peduncles.

Capsules

ellipsoid, 5–10 mm, glabrous.

ellipsoid, 10–14 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

beige, 1–2 mm.

beige, mottled to bronze, 1.3–2.5 mm.

2n

= 12.

Viola rotundifolia

Viola sagittata

Phenology Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Rich montane forests and other mesic woodlands
Elevation 200–2000 m (700–6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DE; GA; KY; MA; MD; ME; NC; NH; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WV; ON; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

N. H. Russell (1955b) stated that Viola rotundifolia is a primitive member of Viola and probably one of the ancestral species of stemmed yellow violets of North America. Russell (1965) stated that morphologically, V. rotundifolia is one of the most invariable violets and suggested that its nearest relative is V. orbiculata.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Mid-season leaf blades: base sagittate, hastate, or ± cordate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent; sepal margins eciliate.
var. sagittata
1. Mid-season leaf blades: base truncate, attenuate, slightly sagittate or hastate, or ± cordate, surfaces usually densely pubescent; sepal margins ciliate.
var. ovata
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 155. FNA vol. 6, p. 155.
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. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. rostrata, 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. 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. sagittata var. ovata, V. sagittata var. sagittata
Name authority Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 150. (1803) Aiton: Hort. Kew. 3: 287. (1789)
Web links