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

Macloskey's or northern white or small white or smooth white or wild white violet, Macloskey's violet, northern white violet, small white violet, smooth white violet, violette pâle

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 4–15 cm; rhizome slender, not fleshy. Plants perennial, acaulescent, stoloniferous, 2–10 cm; stolons pale, often rooting and leafy at nodes; rhizome slender, fleshy.
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, 2–6, ascending to erect;

stipules ovate to linear-lanceolate, margins entire or glandular-toothed, apex acute;

petiole 1–10 cm, strigose;

blade unlobed, reniform to ovate, 1–6.5 × 1–5.5 cm, base broadly or shallowly cordate, margins ± entire or shallowly crenate, eciliate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces usually glabrous, abaxial surfaces sometimes puberulent on proximal 1/2.

Peduncles

3–6 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

2.5–11(–21) cm, usually glabrous, sometimes villous.

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 to ovate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–2 mm;

petals white on both surfaces, lower 3 purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, rarely beardless, lowest 6–12 mm, spur white, gibbous, 1–2.5 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on ascending peduncles.

Capsules

ovoid to ellipsoid, 4–8 mm, glabrous.

ovoid, 5–9 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

brown, 1–2 mm.

beige to bronze, 1–1.5 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Viola selkirkii

Viola macloskeyi

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Mar–Sep.
Habitat Wet to moist places, thickets, mixed or coniferous woods Bogs, wet meadows, seeps, lake margins, stream banks, floodplains, swampy woods, mesic roadside depressions, often among mosses
Elevation 200–3000 m (700–9800 ft) 0–3600 m (0–11800 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
AZ; CA; CO; CT; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; SPM
[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.)

Viola macloskeyi was described by Banks in 1824 as V. rotundifolia var. pallens, from specimens collected by Banks in Labrador. E. Brainerd made the combination V. pallens in 1905 and later (1924) detailed its troublesome nomenclatural history.

Viola macloskeyi was described in 1895 by F. E. Lloyd based on specimens collected at the base of Mount Hood, Oregon. M. S. Baker (1953) placed V. macloskeyi as a subspecies of V. pallens. He later (1953b) corrected that change based on priority and thus the taxon became known as V. macloskeyi subsp. pallens. N. H. Russell (1955) maintained that status, separating subspp. macloskeyi and pallens on the wider, spreading basal leaf lobes of subsp. pallens. McKinney, after examining specimens of both taxa, including types, concluded that the differences have been exaggerated and fall within the range of variation of a single species.

Viola macloskeyi occurs in small colonies; individual plants are interconnected by stolons.

In parts of its range, Viola macloskeyi often shares habitat with V. renifolia; it may be difficult to distinguish the two. The stolons of V. macloskeyi are useful for identification during summer months; V. renifolia plants lack stolons. Patterns of indument can be useful; V. renifolia is usually hairy and V. macloskeyi is usually glabrous (petioles sometimes pubescent).

Viola macloskeyi reportedly hybridizes with V. primulifolia var. primulifolia (= V. ×mollicula House).

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 157. FNA vol. 6, p. 137.
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. 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. 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 subsp. macloskeyi, V. blanda var. macloskeyi, V. macloskeyi subsp. pallens, V. macloskeyi var. pallens, V. pallens, V. pallens subsp. macloskeyi, V. pallens var. subreptans, V. rotundifolia var. pallens
Name authority Pursh ex Goldie: Edinburgh Philos. J. 6: 324. (1822) F. E. Lloyd: Erythea 3: 74. (1895)
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