Viola sagittata
The Arrow Leafed Violet
V. sagitatta
photo by W.H. Duncan
courtesy of UGA Herbarium
web page constructed by Melissa
Bugbee
July 12, 1998
link to genus
Viola
link to species
V. pedata
Contents:
Scientific and Common Names:
V. sagittata is known by the common name
arrow leafed violet, which refers to its distinctively shaped leaves (Stupka,
p. 68).
Higher Taxa:
The classification of V. sagittata is as
follows (Zomlefer, 1994):
Class Angiospermae
Subclass Dicotyledonae
Superorder Violanae
Order Violales
Family Violaceae
Genus Viola
Species sagittata
Identification:
V. sagittata has narrow elongate leaves (1.5 to 4 inches long) that
are shaped like arrows (see drawing - by M. Bugbee). The base of
the leaf typically has a lobe or a spur. Sagittata's flowers
are purple with a white center and on long stems which grow from a common
rootstock with the leaves (Grimm,
p.174).
McKinney describes V.
sagittata as an
"acaulescent herb from fleshy rhizomes; foliage ascending
to erect. Leaf blades heterophyllous. Chasmogamous peduncles
ascending to erect; petals light to dark blue-violet, lateral petals bearded,
spurred sometimes, beard trichomes cylindrical, sepals ovate to lanceolate,
acute, auricles less than one-half as long as sepals, margins ciliate or
eciliate; capsules narrowly ellipsoid to ellipsoid; seeds beige and mottled
to pure bronze; cleistogamous peduncles ascending to erect, flowers narrowly
triangular to triangular, sepal auricles prominent and at least one-half
as long as sepals; sepals, capsules, and seeds as in chasmogamous ones"
(p. 23).
He also gives the following key to distinguish
between two varieties of V. sagittata, var. sagittata and
var. ovata.
"1. Leaf blades narrowly triangular, narrowly elliptic,
to ovate in outline with a sagittate/hastate base, sporadically pubescent
with strigose trichomes or almost glabrous...................................var.
sagittata
1. Leaf blades elliptic to ovate in outline with
a truncate or attenuate base, usually heavily pubescent with strigose
or sericeous trichomes...............................................................................................var.
ovata"
Radford, Ahles, and Bell give a key for distinguishing between the regional
Viola species in Guide to the Vascular Flora
of the Carolinas , p.234-236.
V. sagittata was first described in
1818 and was identified in 1826 as V. emarginata by Leconte whose
specimen is in Lyceum Natural History, New York. McKinney
gives this information and a list of representative specimens from each
state where sagittata occurs.
Geography and Distribution:
V. sagittata ranges from Massachusetts
to Minnesota and south to Georgia and Texas (Grimm,
p. 174) . Var. sagittata occurs more along the southern and
western portion of this area, while var. ovata occurs mainly in
the Appalachians and along the northeastern coast (McKinney,
p. 55). The following table does not distinguish between the two
varieties.
Viola sagittata
|
Area
|
Status
|
References
|
North America:
Continental United States; Canada |
Yes |
McKinney, 1992 |
Eastern North America:
U.S. east of Mississippi; Ontario and eastern Canada |
Yes |
McKinney, 1992 |
Southeastern United States:
AL, AR, DE, DC, FL, GA, KY, MD, NC,SC, TN,VA, WV |
Yes |
McKinney, 1992 |
Southern Appalachian States:
AL, GA, KY, MD, NC, SC, TN, VA,WV |
Yes |
McKinney, 1992 |
| Coastal Plain |
Yes |
Duncan & Kartesz, 1981 |
| Piedmont |
Yes |
Duncan & Kartesz, 1981 |
| Blue Ridge Mountains |
Yes |
Duncan & Kartesz, 1981 |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park |
Yes |
Stupka, 1965 |
| Ridge and Valley |
Yes |
Duncan & Kartesz, 1981 |
| Cumberland Plateau |
Yes |
Duncan & Kartesz, 1981 |
| Central Arch |
Yes |
Duncan & Kartesz, 1981 |
| Georgia |
Yes |
Duncan & Kartesz, 1981 |
| Clarke County, Georgia |
Yes |
Jones & Coile |
| Sam's Farm |
No |
Melissa Bugbee, pers.ob. |
| Old Field |
No |
Melissa Bugbee,pers.ob. |
| Wetland |
?, probably
not |
|
| Woods |
No |
Melissa Bugbee, pers. ob. |
| 1-Hectare
Plot |
No |
Melissa Bugbee, pers. ob. |
|
|
|
The map below shows the range of V. sagittata in the United States.
The blue region contains var. ovata.
The yellow region
contains var. sagittata. The purple
regions contains both varieties. The information used to construct
this map was found in McKinney, 1992 and in Jones
& Coile.
Natural History:
Many of the violet species
hybridize with one another, which often makes them difficult to recognize
and classify. V. sagittata is particularly prone to hybridization,
which has led to many mistakes in its identification (McKinney,
p 24).
After normal early flowering has occured in V. sagittata, a
later round of cleistogamous flowers appears. These flowers are small
and bud-like, and they can self-pollinate and form seed capsules (Zomlefer,
p113).
Where to find V. sagittata:
V. sagittata does not seem
to be very common south of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains.
The plant likes to grow on "moist banks and in fields and upland woods"
(Grimm, p.174). The flowers bloom from March
to June.
References:
-
Coon, Nelson. The Complete Book of Violets.
A.S. Barnes and Company, Inc.: New York, 1977. ISBN 0-498-020110-6
-
Dean, Blanche. Wildflowers of Alabama and Adjoining States.
University of Alabama Press: University, Alabama, 1973. ISBN 0-8173-0147-X
-
Duncan, Wilbur H. and John T. Kartesz.
Vascular Flora of Georgia: An Annotated Checklist. The University
of Georgia Press: Athens, GA, 1981. ISBN 0-8203-0538-3
-
Grimm, William Carey. Recognizing Flowering
Wild Plants. Stackpole Books: Harrisburg, PN, 1968.
-
Jones, Samuel B. , Jr., and Nancy Coile. The
Distribution of the Vascular Flora of Georgia. Department of
Botany: University of Georgia.
-
Linn, Louis. Eastern North America's Wildflowers. A Sunrise Book:
New York, 1978. ISBN 0-87690-262-X
-
McKinney, Landon E. A Taxonomic Revision
of the Acaulescent Blue Violets (Viola) of North America. Botanical
Research Institute of Texas, Inc: Fort Worth, Texas, 1992. ISBN 0883-1475
-
Radford, Albert, Harry Ahles, and C. Ritchie Bell.
Guide to the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of
North Carolina Book Exchange: Chapel Hill, NC, 1964.
-
Stupka, Arthur. Wildflowers in Color.
Harper and Row Publishers: New York, 1965.
-
Zomlefer, Wendy B. Guide to Flowering Plant
Families. University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill, NC,
1994.
Go Back To . . .
Melissa Bugbee
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
email: mbugbee@arches.uga.edu
V. sagittata has narrow elongate leaves (1.5 to 4 inches long) that
are shaped like arrows (see drawing - by M. Bugbee). The base of
the leaf typically has a lobe or a spur. Sagittata's flowers
are purple with a white center and on long stems which grow from a common
rootstock with the leaves (Grimm,
p.174).