Viola sororia
Viola tripartita
common blue violet, common or downy or woolly blue violet, northern blue violet, northern violet, northern woodland violet, violette parente, woolly blue violet
three-part or Piedmont or threepart violet, threepart violet
1(2), erect, leafless proximally, leafy distally, glabrous or puberulent, from 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: 0(–2);
stipules ovate, not leaflike, margins entire, apex acute to acuminate, surfaces glabrous or puberulent;
petiole 9–11.5 cm, glabrous or puberulent;
blade unlobed, ovate, or 3–5-lobed, 4–5 × 1–5 cm, base cordate, margins entire or crenate-serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, surfaces glabrous or ± puberulent;
cauline similar to basal except: restricted to distal ends of stems;
stipules ovate to oblong;
petiole 0.7–7.2 cm, glabrous or puberulent;
blade unlobed, ovate or deltate, or 3-lobed (if 3-lobed, lateral lobes falcate, middle rhombic, longer than others, lobes may appear petiolate; unlobed and 3-lobed leaves can occur on same plant), 1–6 × 0.5–5.5 cm, base truncate to cuneate, margins serrate, ciliate or eciliate, surfaces glabrous or pubescent.
3–25 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
1.5–4 cm, glabrous or 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 lanceolate to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.1–0.5 mm;
petals lemon-yellow adaxially, upper 2, rarely others, brownish purple abaxially, lowest and usually lateral 2 brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 and sometimes lowest bearded, lowest 10–18 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 0.5–2 mm;
style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.
ellipsoid, 5–12 mm, glabrous.
ovoid to ellipsoid, 9–12 mm, glabrous.
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.
beige, bronze, or brown, 2.4–3 mm.
= 54.
= 12.
Viola sororia
Viola tripartita
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.)
Some authors recognize two varieties of Viola tripartita based on lobed versus unlobed leaves. F. L. Lévesque and P. M. Dansereau (1966) suggested that leaf variation is the only character difference between vars. tripartita and glaberrima. N. H. Russell (1965) stated that V. tripartita plants with lobed and unlobed leaves are sympatric and frequently intergrade and did not recognize them as distinct. The situation with two leaf forms in V. tripartita is similar to V. lobata, which also has two leaf forms.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites:
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
