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great-spur or long-spur or Selkirk's violet, great-spur violet, Selkirk's violet, violette de Selkirk

Canada violet, Canada white violet, Canadian violet, Canadian white violet, rugose violet

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 4–15 cm; rhizome slender, not fleshy. Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–46(–60) cm, with branching rhizomes forming colonies or not.
Stems

1–3(4), usually erect to ascending, glabrous or puberulent, from fleshy or subligneous rhizome.

Leaves

basal, 2–12, prostrate to ascending;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;

petiole 1.5–7 cm, not winged, glabrous or pubescent;

blade unlobed, usually ovate, rarely orbiculate, 1–5 × 1–5 cm, base cordate, margins crenate to crenulate or serrate, eciliate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces glabrous or sometimes pubescent abaxially, strigose adaxially.

basal and cauline;

basal: 1–5;

stipules ± oblong, ovate, or lanceolate, margins entire, sometimes glandular, apex acuminate to cuspidate;

petiole 1.1–23 cm, glabrous or puberulent;

blade ovate to broadly ovate or ovate-reniform, 0.7–12.4 × 0.9–11.1(–12.3) cm, base cordate, subcordate, or truncate, margins crenate, crenulate, or serrulate, ciliate (sometimes only on proximal 1/2) or eciliate, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces glabrous or puberulent (often only on veins);

cauline similar to basal except: stipules also deltate, margins also erose or laciniate, apex acute, long-acuminate to cuspidate, or ± truncate, occasionally 2- or 3-fid;

petiole 0.1–6.9(–15.2) cm;

blade ovate to deltate, 1.2–7.7 × 0.8–7.8 cm, base cordate to truncate, margins crenate or crenulate to ± serrulate.

Peduncles

3–6 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

1–6.1 cm, glabrate to puberulent, sometimes glabrous below bracteoles.

Flowers

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

petals light violet on both surfaces, lower 3 white basally and dark violet-veined, lateral 2 beardless, lowest 8–13 mm, spur pale to dark violet, elongated, 4–7 mm;

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

sepals lanceolate, margins usually eciliate, auricles 0.5–1.3 mm;

petals white adaxially, upper 2 and lower 3 tinged soft reddish violet abaxially, rarely white on both surfaces, all petals usually with yellow patch basally, lower 3 usually purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 5.5–20 mm, spur white, gibbous, 1–2 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary or absent.

Capsules

ovoid to ellipsoid, 4–8 mm, glabrous.

ovoid to ellipsoid, 2.5–10 mm, sometimes muriculate, glabrous or puberulent.

Seeds

brown, 1–2 mm.

brown to dark brown or purplish black, 1.5–2.5 mm.

2n

= 24.

Viola selkirkii

Viola canadensis

Phenology Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Wet to moist places, thickets, mixed or coniferous woods
Elevation 200–3000 m (700–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; MA; ME; MI; MN; NH; NY; PA; SD; VT; WA; WI; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AL; AR; AZ; CO; CT; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Viola selkirkii occurs on the southwestern coast of Greenland, north to 63ºN (L. Brouillet, pers. comm.). Presence of V. selkirkii in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut is considered doubtful (L. Brouillet et al., http://canadensys.net/vascan). K. W. Allred (2008) said that V. selkirkii was considered by W. C. Martin and C. R. Hutchins (1980) to be expected in New Mexico.

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

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Rhizomes branched
var. rugulosa
1. Rhizomes not branched
→ 2
2. Plants 11–46 cm; basal leaf blades 2.4–9.2 cm wide.
var. canadensis
2. Plants 3–14(–18) cm; basal leaf blades 0.9–3.8 cm wide.
var. scopulorum
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 157. FNA vol. 6, p. 125.
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. rotundifolia, V. sagittata, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
V. canadensis var. canadensis, V. canadensis var. rugulosa, V. canadensis var. scopulorum
Name authority Pursh ex Goldie: Edinburgh Philos. J. 6: 324. (1822) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 936. (1753)
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