Viola walteri |
Viola lithion |
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prostrate blue violet |
rock violet |
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Habit | Plants perennial, caulescent, stoloniferous, 5–19 cm; stolons green or reddish, leafy, sometimes rooting at nodes, becoming lignified in age. | Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–15 cm. | ||||
Stems | 1–5, prostrate, spreading, finely puberulent, from current and/or previous year’s growth, on usually vertical, fleshy rhizome, rooting and forming rosettes at or near tip; rooted rosettes often develop into an erect, fleshy caudex from which new stems are produced. |
1–3, ascending to erect, glabrous, on caudex from fleshy rhizome. |
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Leaves | basal and cauline; basal: 3–6; stipules lanceolate, margins laciniate, projections often long-filamentous, apex long-acuminate; petiole 2.3–7.3 cm, glabrous or pubescent; blade often purple-spotted abaxially and/or adaxially, ovate to reniform, 1.2–5 × 1.6–3.6 cm, base deeply to broadly cordate, margins crenulate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex rounded to obtuse, surfaces glabrous or pubescent; cauline similar to basal except: stipules ovate to lanceolate, margins laciniate; petiole 1–3.5 cm; blade 1.3–2.9 × 1.4–3.2 cm. |
basal and cauline; basal: 1–4; stipules unknown; petiole 1–10 cm, glabrous, sometimes finely puberulent; blade broadly ovate or deltate to broadly deltate, 1–2.5(–2.9) × 0.6–2.2(–2.6) cm, base usually cordate to truncate, rarely rounded, margins crenate-dentate, eciliate, apex acute, surfaces glabrous; cauline similar to basal except: stipules lanceolate, margins usually fimbriate-toothed, sometimes entire, apex attenuate or acute; petiole 1.1–3.7 cm, sometimes finely puberulent; blade ovate to deltate, 0.7–2.2 × 0.4–1.2 cm, base sometimes rounded on distal blades. |
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Peduncles | 5–9.6 cm, glabrous or pubescent. |
3–6(–10) cm, glabrous. |
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Flowers | sepals lanceolate to ovate, margins mostly eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm; petals pale to bluish violet on both surfaces, lower 3 white basally and darker violet-veined, lateral 2 and often upper 2 and lowest bearded, lowest 15–18 mm, spur white, gibbous to usually elongated, 3–5 mm; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary. |
sepals lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm; petals blue to pale violet on both surfaces with yellow area basally, lower 3 purple-veined, lowest with yellow area, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 5.5–11 mm, spur white to pale violet, gibbous, 0.5–1.3 mm; style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers unknown. |
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Capsules | ovoid to ellipsoid, 5–7 mm, glabrous. |
subglobose, ca. 5 mm, glabrous. |
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Seeds | brown, 1–1.5 mm. |
dark brown, ca. 1.8 mm. |
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2n | = 20. |
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Viola walteri |
Viola lithion |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | |||||
Habitat | Seasonally wet cracks and crevices, narrow ledges of rock outcrops, shaded northeast-facing avalanche chutes, cirque headwalls, subalpine conifer zone | |||||
Elevation | 2300–3100 m (7500–10200 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; FL; GA; KY; LA; MD; MS; NC; OH; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
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NV; UT |
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Discussion | Varieties 2 (2 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Viola lithion is known only from the White Pine Range in Nevada and the Pilot Range straddling the Nevada-Utah border. It is related to V. canadensis and V. flettii. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 163. | FNA vol. 6, p. 136. | ||||
Parent taxa | Violaceae > Viola | Violaceae > Viola | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | House: Torreya 6: 172. (1906) | N. H. Holmgren & P. K. Holmgren: Brittonia 44: 300, fig. 1A – D. (1992) | ||||
Web links |