Viola sororia
Viola charlestonensis
common blue violet, common or downy or woolly blue violet, northern blue violet, northern violet, northern woodland violet, violette parente, woolly blue violet
Charleston Mountain or Charleston violet, Charleston Mountain violet
1–3, prostrate, decumbent, or erect, leafy proximally and distally, 1/2–2/3 subterranean, glabrous or puberulent, on caudex from usually vertical, subligneous rhizome.
basal, 1–8, ascending to erect;
stipules linear-lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, margins entire, sometimes glandular distally, apex acute;
petiole 2–25 cm, pubescent or glabrous;
blade green abaxially, unlobed, ovate or broadly ovate to reniform, 2–5 × 2–10 cm, not fleshy, base cordate, margins crenate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute to obtuse or rounded, surfaces usually pubescent, rarely glabrous.
basal and cauline;
basal: 1–3;
stipules adnate to petiole, forming 2 linear-lanceolate wings, margins entire or sparingly lacerate, apex of each wing free, acuminate;
petiole 3.5–13.5 cm, densely short-puberulent;
blade purplish abaxially (often dark purple-veined), grayish adaxially with prominent whitish veins (from dense hairs), usually orbiculate to broadly ovate, sometimes reniform, thick, 1–3.5 × 1.1–3.3 cm, base attenuate or truncate, margins entire, ciliate mostly on proximal half of blade, apex acute to obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces densely short-puberulent;
cauline similar to basal except: stipules deltate to lanceolate, apex acute;
petiole 1.9–3.4 cm;
blade ovate or elliptic to deltate, 0.7–3.1 × 0.6–2.2 cm, length 0.7–1.9 times width, base usually attenuate, sometimes subcordate, margins entire, ciliate.
3–25 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
1.7–6.6 cm, pubescent.
sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm;
petals light to dark blue- or dark purple-violet, reddish purple, or rarely white on both surfaces, usually white basally, lowest and sometimes lateral 2 purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest bearded or beardless, 15–25 mm, spur same color as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm;
style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate to ascending peduncles.
sepals linear-lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;
petals deep lemon-yellow adaxially, upper 2 usually conspicuously reddish brown to brownish purple abaxially, lateral 2 streaked or solid reddish brown, lower 3 and sometimes upper 2 dark brown-veined proximally, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 8–13 mm, spur usually reddish brown, sometimes yellowish, gibbous, 0.4–2 mm, glabrous or scabrous abaxially;
style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.
ellipsoid, 5–12 mm, glabrous.
spherical, 4.5–9 mm, puberulent.
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.
black, 3.4–3.5 mm.
= 54.
= 12.
Viola sororia
Viola charlestonensis
Viola sororia is similar to V. palmata in the high degree of phenotypic plasticity. The petal color is usually light to dark blue-violet. In V. sororia forma priceana (the Confederate violet) petals are grayish white with violet veins. Viola septentrionalis was recognized by N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) based on what he considered distinct capsule and seed morphology. His assumptions were based on one to four specimens. A. Haines (2011) alluded to the variability of V. sororia and indicated that a more northern form has often been called V. septentrionalis. He suggested that range-wide patterns of variation make it difficult or impractical to separate. We currently see no valid reason to recognize V. septentrionalis.
Viola floridana was recognized by D. B. Ward (2006) as distinct from V. sororia based on being glabrous except for scattered hairs on petioles.
Viola sororia reportedly hybridizes with V. cucullata (= V. ×bissellii House), V. hirsutula [= V. ×cordifolia (Nuttall) Schweinitz], V. pedatifida var. brittoniana (= V. ×insolita House), V. pedatifida var. pedatifida (= V. ×bernardii Greene), and V. sagittata var. sagittata (= V. ×conjugens Greene).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Viola charlestonensis is known only from the Spring Mountains (previously called Charleston Mountains) in Nevada and Zion National Park, Utah. M. S. Baker (in I. W. Clokey 1945) stated that E. C. Jaeger reportedly collected it at Jacob’s Pool, Arizona, in July 1926. The location of this single Arizona collection may be an error (R. J. Little 2001).
M. S. Baker and J. Clausen (in I. W. Clokey 1945) stated that Viola charlestonensis is the only species in Becker’s Nuttallianae group with the spur pubescent on the exterior. In some populations in the Spring Mountains, Nevada, the spur and the midvein on the abaxial surface of the lowest petal to ± the middle of the lowest petal are covered ± densely with short hairs. Scattered hairs are also present on the abaxial surface of the lateral and upper petals. In other populations in the Spring Mountains, short hairs are mostly absent on the spur, lowest petal, and abaxial surfaces of lateral and upper petals.
M. S. Baker (in I. W. Clokey 1945) commented that he observed numerous sterile flowers and relatively few mature capsules and seeds of Viola charlestonensis plants when he visited the Spring Mountains in June 1937. Similar observations were made of V. charlestonensis plants in the Spring Mountains at one location in 2009 and of three other locations in 2010.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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