Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Viola tricolor

Viola odorata

European wild pansy, garden violet, heart's ease, johnny-jump-up -, johnny-jump-up violet, ladies delight, northern violet, pansy, violette tricolore, wild pansy

English violet, garden violet, sweet blue violet, sweet violet, violette odorante
Habit Plants perennial, acaulescent, stoloniferous, 4–12 cm; stolons green, often rooting at nodes and forming leafy rosettes; rooted rosettes often develop into erect, rhizomatous caudex from which new stolons are produced; rhizome thick, fleshy.
Leaves

basal (and from stolons), 5–10, ascending to erect;

stipules lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, margins fimbriate, projections gland-tipped, apex acute;

petiole 2–17 cm, puberulent;

blade unlobed, ovate to orbiculate, 1.5–7 × 1.5–5 cm, base cordate, margins crenate, ciliate, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces puberulent.
Peduncles

4–15 cm, puberulent.
Flowers

sepals narrow to broadly lanceolate, margins ciliate, auricles 3–4 mm;

petals deep to pale blue-violet, pale blue, or white on both surfaces, usually white basally, lateral 2 sparsely to densely bearded, lowest usually purple-veined, 12–22 mm, spur usually same color as petals, elongated, 5–7 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate or ascending peduncles.
Capsules

sometimes purple-flecked, ovoid, 5–8 mm, puberulent.
Seeds

brown, 3–4 mm.
2n

= 20.

Viola tricolor

Viola odorata
Phenology Flowering Jan–May.
Habitat Lawns, roadsides, clearings, riparian habitats, parks, urban areas
Elevation 0–1700 m (0–5600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Europe; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; CT; ID; IL; MA; ME; MI; NC; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; UT; WA; WI; BC; NS; ON; QC; Eurasia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (1 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Viola odorata occurs in small colonies; individual plants are interconnected by stolons.

The flowers of Viola odorata are noted for their fragrance; some plants are more fragrant than others. It is native to Eurasia and assumed to be introduced in North America where it is usually found in areas associated with human habitation, including parks, lawns, and roadsides. A substantial industry revolved around the commercial production of violets in England, France, and the United States from prior to 1895 and into the 1900s (R. E. Coombs 2003). Viola odorata is sometimes found in remote locations not easily explained by anthropogenic influence, for example, Clearwater Mountains, Idaho. It is available through the nursery trade and is cultivated as a garden plant and occasionally reported as an escape. Viola odorata is grown in southern France for essential oils used in perfumes, flavorings, and toiletries, and also for the production of the sweet, violet-colored liqueur called parfait amour (V. H. Heywood 1978).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 160. FNA vol. 6, p. 140.
Parent taxa Violaceae > Viola Violaceae > Viola
Sibling taxa
V. adunca, V. affinis, V. arvensis, V. bakeri, V. beckwithii, V. bicolor, V. biflora, V. blanda, V. brittoniana, V. canadensis, V. canina, V. charlestonensis, V. clauseniana, V. cucullata, V. cuneata, V. douglasii, V. egglestonii, V. epipsila, V. flettii, V. frank-smithii, V. glabella, V. guadalupensis, V. hallii, V. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. lithion, V. lobata, V. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, V. nephrophylla, V. novae-angliae, V. nuttallii, V. ocellata, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palmata, V. palustris, V. pedata, V. pedatifida, V. pedunculata, V. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, V. purpurea, V. quercetorum, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. rostrata, V. rotundifolia, V. sagittata, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. septemloba, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. striata, V. subsinuata, V. tomentosa, V. trinervata, V. tripartita, V. umbraticola, V. utahensis, V. vallicola, V. villosa, V. walteri
V. adunca, V. affinis, V. arvensis, V. bakeri, V. beckwithii, V. bicolor, V. biflora, V. blanda, V. brittoniana, V. canadensis, V. canina, V. charlestonensis, V. clauseniana, V. cucullata, V. cuneata, V. douglasii, V. egglestonii, V. epipsila, V. flettii, V. frank-smithii, V. glabella, V. guadalupensis, V. hallii, V. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. lithion, V. lobata, V. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, V. nephrophylla, V. novae-angliae, V. nuttallii, V. ocellata, V. orbiculata, V. palmata, V. palustris, V. pedata, V. pedatifida, V. pedunculata, V. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, V. purpurea, V. quercetorum, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. rostrata, V. rotundifolia, V. sagittata, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. septemloba, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. striata, V. subsinuata, V. tomentosa, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. tripartita, V. umbraticola, V. utahensis, V. vallicola, V. villosa, V. walteri
Subordinate taxa
V. tricolor var. tricolor
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 935. (1753) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 934. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers