Viola sororia |
Viola rotundifolia |
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common blue violet, common or downy or woolly blue violet, northern blue violet, northern violet, northern woodland violet, violette parente, woolly blue violet |
early yellow or roundleaf yellow violet, round-leaf violet, roundleaf yellow violet, violette à feuilles rondes |
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Habit | Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–50 cm; rhizomes thick, fleshy. | Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 1–20 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy. |
Leaves | 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, 2–5, prostrate to ascending, often overlapping basally; stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute; petiole 2–8 cm, pubescent; blade unlobed, orbiculate, reniform, or ovate, 2–12 × 1.5–9 cm, base cordate, margins crenate to serrate, sometimes glandular, ciliate or eciliate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces usually pubescent throughout or concentrated proximally on both surfaces. |
Peduncles | 3–25 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent. |
1.5–7 cm, usually pubescent. |
Flowers | 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 to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm; petals deep lemon-yellow on both surfaces, lower 3 brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 8–11 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 1–2 mm; style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate or partially subterranean rhizomes or on racemelike, nonrooting, and usually leafless branches growing from rhizome apex. |
Capsules | ellipsoid, 5–12 mm, glabrous. |
ellipsoid, 5–10 mm, glabrous. |
Seeds | beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm. |
beige, 1–2 mm. |
2n | = 54. |
= 12. |
Viola sororia |
Viola rotundifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jun. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Dry to mesic habitats in woods, thickets, stream banks, moist prairies, pastures, disturbed ground, not in saturated soil | Rich montane forests and other mesic woodlands |
Elevation | 0–3000 m (0–9800 ft) | 200–2000 m (700–6600 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CO; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WI; WV; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK
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CT; DE; GA; KY; MA; MD; ME; NC; NH; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WV; ON; QC
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Discussion | 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.) |
N. H. Russell (1955b) stated that Viola rotundifolia is a primitive member of Viola and probably one of the ancestral species of stemmed yellow violets of North America. Russell (1965) stated that morphologically, V. rotundifolia is one of the most invariable violets and suggested that its nearest relative is V. orbiculata. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 158. | FNA vol. 6, p. 155. |
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. chalcosperma, V. floridana, V. latiuscula, V. palmata var. sororia, V. papilionaceae, V. priceana, V. rosacea, V. septentrionalis, V. wilmattiae | |
Name authority | Willdenow: Hort. Berol. 1: plate 72. (1806) | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 150. (1803) |
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