Viola sororia
Viola ocellata
common blue violet, common or downy or woolly blue violet, northern blue violet, northern violet, northern woodland violet, violette parente, woolly blue violet
pinto violet, two-eyed violet, western heart's ease, western heart's ease or two-eyed or southern two-eyed violet
1–3, ascending to erect, ± glabrous or usually puberulent, on caudex from shallow, fleshy rhizome or deep-seated caudex with fleshy roots.
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: 1–6;
stipules deltate, margins laciniate, apex usually long-acuminate;
petiole 3.7–10 cm, puberulent;
blade ovate, deltate, or subreniform, 1–6 × 1.2–4 cm, base usually cordate to subcordate, margins crenate, usually ciliate, apex acute, mucronulate, surfaces usually sparsely puberulent, glabrous early;
cauline similar to basal except: stipules lanceolate, margins ±fimbriate, sometimes stipitate-glandular, sometimes entire, erose, or ± laciniate;
petiole 0.4–9 cm;
blade ovate to deltate, 1.6–4.4 × 1.1–3.6 cm, base subcordate to truncate, margins crenate to ± serrate, ciliate, apex acute to obtuse.
3–25 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
1–10 cm, puberulent.
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 lanceolate, margins ciliate, auricles 0.5–1.5 mm;
petals white adaxially, upper 2 and sometimes lower 3 deep reddish violet abaxially, all with yellow area basally, lateral 2 with purple patch basally distal to smaller yellow area, bearded, lowest with yellow patch basally, purple-veined, 5–15 mm, spur yellow or greenish, gibbous, 1–2.5 mm;
style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.
ellipsoid, 5–12 mm, glabrous.
spherical to spherical-ovoid, 5–11 mm, minutely scabrous.
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.
brown-purple, ca. 2 mm.
= 54.
= 12.
Viola sororia
Viola ocellata
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.)
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