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

Nuttall's or Nuttall's yellow or yellow prairie violet, Nuttall's violet, violette de Nuttall, yellow prairie violet

Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 4–15 cm; rhizome slender, not fleshy. Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 2–27 cm.
Stems

1–6, ascending to erect, leafy proximally and distally, ca. 1/2 subterranean, puberulent, on caudex from usually vertical, 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: 1–6;

stipules adnate to petiole, forming 2 linear-lanceolate wings, margins entire, apex of each wing free, acute, few-toothed or lobed;

petiole 2–17 cm, glabrous or minutely puberulent;

blade lanceolate, ovate, or elliptic, 1–9 × 0.6–2.5 cm, base attenuate, margins entire or serrulate, sometimes sinuate, ciliate, apex acute to obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces glabrous or puberulent;

cauline similar to basal except: stipules adnate to or free from petiole, linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblong, sometimes leaflike, margins usually entire, rarely laciniate or glandular, apex acute to acuminate;

petiole 2–7 cm;

blade 1.4–7.2(–10) × 1.1–2.3 cm, length 1.3–4.4 times width, apex acute.

Peduncles

3–6 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

3–13 cm, glabrous or puberulent.

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 linear-lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;

petals deep lemon-yellow adaxially or on both surfaces, upper 2 often brownish purple abaxially, lower 3 dark brown- to brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 sparsely bearded, lowest 6–13 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 0.5–1.5 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.

Capsules

ovoid to ellipsoid, 4–8 mm, glabrous.

subglobose to ovoid, 4–10 mm, usually glabrous, rarely finely puberulent.

Seeds

brown, 1–2 mm.

medium brown, 2–3.2 mm, elaiosome extending over 1/3 length of seed and completely covering funiculus.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Viola selkirkii

Viola nuttallii

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Wet to moist places, thickets, mixed or coniferous woods Sagebrush flats, prairie grasslands, dry stream banks, juniper woodlands, scree slopes
Elevation 200–3000 m (700–9800 ft) 400–2600 m (1300–8500 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; CO; ID; KS; MN; MT; ND; NE; NM; SD; UT; WY; AB; MB; SK
[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.)

D. M. Fabijan et al. (1987) stated that Viola nuttallii showed no evidence of hybridization even when growing with V. vallicola east of the Rocky Mountains.

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 157. FNA vol. 6, p. 140.
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. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, V. nephrophylla, V. novae-angliae, 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 Crocion nuttallii
Name authority Pursh ex Goldie: Edinburgh Philos. J. 6: 324. (1822) Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 174. (1813)
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