Viola walteri
Viola palmata
prostrate blue violet
early blue violet, three-lobe violet, three-lobed violet, trilobed violet, wood violet
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.
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, 2–3, ascending to erect;
stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, apex acute;
petiole 1–20 cm, glabrous or pubescent;
earliest leaf blades unlobed, mid-season blades 3–9-lobed, lobes sometimes appearing petiolate and sometimes further lobed;
earliest leaf blades reniform to ovate, mid-season blades with middle lobes usually ovate or elliptic to widely obovate, sometimes narrowly elliptic, narrowly ovate, lanceolate, or spatulate to narrowly obovate, lateral lobes elliptic, obdeltate, or spatulate to falcate, smaller lobes similar, 1–14 × 1–10 cm, base truncate to cordate, margins serrate or entire, usually ciliate, apex acute, rounded, blunt, or obtuse, surfaces glabrous or pubescent throughout or along veins.
5–9.6 cm, glabrous or pubescent.
3–13 cm, glabrous or pubescent.
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 ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;
petals violet on both surfaces, lower 3 white basally, lower 3 and upper 2 sometimes purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, spur sometimes bearded, lowest 15–25 mm, spur white, gibbous, 2–3 mm;
style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate to ascending peduncles.
ovoid to ellipsoid, 5–7 mm, glabrous.
ellipsoid, 5–15 mm, glabrous.
brown, 1–1.5 mm.
beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.
= 20.
= 54.
Viola walteri
Viola palmata
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) presented evidence based on seed coat micromorphology that some plants known as Viola palmata are hybrids between plants with lobed and unlobed leaves and believed the type specimen to be hybrid in origin. He chose not to recognize the name V. palmata, choosing instead to recognize V. triloba. If the type specimen does represent a hybrid, Gil-Ad would be correct in recognizing V. triloba. Because the purity of the type specimen cannot be ascertained, we consider V. palmata the most appropriate name for this taxon. We acknowledge the presence of hybrids between lobed and unlobed plants; such hybrids obscure lines of demarcation. Some herbarium specimens may represent such hybrids; we feel most do not.
L. E. McKinney (1992) described the nomenclatural history of Viola palmata. Homophylly versus heterophylly differentiates V. palmata from V. subsinuata, the homophyllous violet most often called V. palmata. We know that the taxon described by Linnaeus was heterophyllous, with some undivided leaf blades.
Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Leaf blades pubescent, hairs scattered throughout or concentrated along veins, adaxial surfaces, or toward margins; stipule margin processes 1/2+ stipule length. | var. walteri |
1. Leaf blades glabrous or pubescent, hairs usually confined to adaxial surfaces; stipule margin processes to 1/2 stipule length. | var. appalachiensis |
1. Petioles, leaf surfaces, and peduncles usually pubescent, rarely glabrous; apex of middle leaf lobe acute; plants of dry to mesic habitats. | var. palmata |
1. Petioles, leaf surfaces, and peduncles usually glabrous, rarely pubescent; apex of middle leaf lobe rounded, blunt, or obtuse; plants of wet ground. | var. heterophylla |
LA Plants
MD Biodiversity
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
Go Botany
IL Wildflowers
KS Wildflowers
MI Flora
MO Plants
