Viola striata
Viola palustris
cream or cream-white or pale or striped or striped cream violet, creamy violet, striped cream violet, striped white violet, violette strièe
alpine marsh violet, marsh violet, northern marsh or marsh or swamp or alpine marsh violet, northern marsh violet, violette des marais
1–4, ascending to erect (often declining during anthesis), glabrous or pubescent, on caudex from fleshy rhizome.
basal and cauline;
basal: 2–6;
stipules lanceolate to narrowly deltate, margins laciniate, apex acute;
petiole 3–6 cm, glabrous or puberulent;
blade ovate to reniform, 2–7 × 1–2.5 cm, base cordate, margins crenate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex obtuse to acute, surfaces glabrous or pubescent;
cauline similar to basal except: stipules lanceolate, margins laciniate;
petiole 3–7 cm;
distal blades ovate to deltate, 1–6 × 1–4 cm, base cordate, apex acuminate to acute.
basal, 2–4, ascending to erect;
stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;
petiole 1–17 cm, glabrous;
blade unlobed, reniform or ovate to orbiculate, 0.5–6.4 × 0.5–5.5 cm, ± as long as wide, base cordate, margins crenulate, eciliate, apex obtuse to acuminate, surfaces glabrous.
5–12 cm, glabrous or pubescent.
2–20.7 cm, glabrous, bracteoles usually below middle in chasmogamous flowers.
sepals lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 2–3 mm;
petals white or cream on both surfaces, without yellow patch basally, lowest and usually lateral 2 purple-veined, lateral 2 and sometimes all densely bearded, lowest 10–18 mm, spur white, gibbous to elongated, 3–6 mm;
style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.
sepals ovate or lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm;
petals lilac, pale blue, or pale violet on both surfaces, sometimes nearly white and tinged with lilac, lowest and sometimes lateral 2 dark violet-veined, lateral 2 bearded or beardless, lowest 8–16 mm, spur usually same color as petals, gibbous, 1–3 mm;
style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on ascending peduncles.
ellipsoid, 6–7 mm, glabrous.
ellipsoid, 6–10 mm, glabrous.
beige to bronze, 1.5–3 mm.
dark brown, 1–2 mm.
= 20.
= 48.
Viola striata
Viola palustris
Dead, long-persistent stems of Viola striata are often present the following season. In flower, the plants are often mistaken for V. canadensis because the petals are whitish (H. E. Ballard 1992).
Viola striata reportedly hybridizes with V. labradorica (= V. ×eclipes H. E. Ballard), V. rostrata (= V. ×brauniae Grover ex Cooperrider), V. walteri var. appalachiensis (= V. ×wujekii H. E. Ballard), and V. walteri var. walteri (= V. ×cooperrideri H. E. Ballard).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Viola palustris occurs in small colonies; individual plants are interconnected by stolons. When flowering, usually three or more leaves are present per caudex.
M. Sorsa (1968) noted that in western North America Viola palustris specimens differ from European V. palustris plants and often show variation in character combinations. She stated (pers. comm.) that North American V. palustris is not a uniform entity.
E. Hultén (1968) synonymized Viola palustris with V. epipsila, as did W. J. Cody (2000). G. W. Douglas et al. (1998–2002, vol. 5) recognized both species. We assume that V. palustris does not occur in Alaska; verification is needed. See additional discussion under 18a. V. epipsila var. repens.
M. Sorsa (1968) indicated that Viola palustris var. brevipes has often been confused with V. blanda and that var. brevipes may have arisen from hybridization between a tetraploid and a diploid plant. Listed here in synonymy, var. brevipes may warrant recognition.
Reports of Viola palustris from one location in Coconino County, Arizona, first collected in 1962, likely refer to V. macloskeyi.
Viola palustris hybridizes with V. epipsila var. repens (M. Sorsa 1968; T. Marcussen and T. Karlsson 2010).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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