VIOLACEAE
The Violet family
Christy Hetzel
Violaceae is a member of the Parietals order
(this is the Viola pedata, a common violet in North America)
The sweetness of the violet's deep blue eyes,
Kissed by the breath of heaven, seems color'd by its skies
- Byron *
With the exception of Hybanthus, the genus Viola makes up the family violaceae in North America. Violaceae are low-growing herbs ethat come either stemless or with leafy stems. In the stemless variety the leaves and flowers arise directly from the rootstock. The floers have five sepals, five stamens, five petals and one pistil. The lowermost petal is usually spurred and longer than the others. According to Lawrence, this family contains 15 genera and 850 species.
SPECIES LIST
The species listed here can be found in the South-Eastern part of the United States
Scientific Name Common Name |
|
* This list was compiled from Rickett and the Ga Plant List. |
Identification Guide
This information is taken from Wild Flowers
I. Stemless; the leaves and scapes directly from a rootstock or from runners
Petals bright yellow; leaves orbicular....................................................................................................1 V. rotundifolia
Petals violet, purple or white
Cleistogamous flowers wanting; petals all beardless; leaves divided......................................................2 V. pedata
Cleistogamous flowers present, at least later in the season
Rootstock thick, often stout, without stolons; lateral petals bearded
Cleistogamous flowers ovid on short prostrate peduncles; their capsules mostly purplish
Leaves except rarely the earliest, palmately five- to eleven-lobed or parted; foliage villous-pubescent
Leaf lobes blunt, lateral ones broad......................................................................3 V. palmata
Leaf lobes acuminate, lateral ones linear.............................................................4 V. perpensa
Early and late leaves uncut; others three- to seven-lobed or parted ................................5 V. triloba
Leaves all uncut; blades ovate to reinform, cordate, crenatesserrate
Plants nearly or quite gabrous; peatls violet-purple; seeds brown
Petioles smooth; plants of moist soil......................................................6 V. papilionacea
Petioles glandular roughened; plants of dry soil...........................................7 V. latiuscula
Leaves very hairy, especially beneath and on the petioles; seeds dark brown..........8 V. sororia
Leaves hirsutulous above, otherwise smooth; seeds buff.......................................9 V. hirsutula
Cleistogamous flowers ovid on ascending peduncles, soon elongated.
Leaves pubescent beneath and on the petioles; sepals and their auricles ciliolate; blades broadly ovate, cordate................................................................................................10 V. septentrionalis
Leaves glabrous beneath and on the petioles...................................................................11 V. affinis
Cleistogamous flowers on erect peduncles, their capsules green
Leaves broadly ovate, blunt at apex; sepals obtuse
Cleistogamous flowers ovoid; spurred petal villous.........................................12 V. nephrophylla
Cleistogamous flowers long and slender, spurred peatl glabrous..........................13 V. cucullata
Leaves lobed or on the margins sharply incised or toothed toward the subcordate or truncate base; spurred peatl villous, lateral ones with capillary beard
Blade of the mature leaves ovate-oblong, ciliate, finely pubescent; petioles short.........................
14 V. fimbriatula
Blade of the mature leaves lanceolate, usually smooth; petioles long......................15 V. sagittata
Blade of the mature leaves broadly ovate or deltoid
Margin coarsely toothed near the base; blades sometimes lobed................16 V. emarginata
Margin sharply toothed toward the base and more or less pectinately incised........................
17 V. pectinata
Blade of the mature leaves primarily three-lobed or three-parted, the segments two to three-cleft into linear or oblaneonal lobes..........................................................................18 V. brittoniana
Rootstock slender (or thicker and scaly with age); plants usually from stolons
Petals pale violet; leaves minutely hairy on the upper surface; spur large, 3 lines long.........19 V. selkirkii
Petals white, with dark purple lines on the lower three
Cleistogamous capsules ovoid, usually purplish; woodland plants
Leaves reiniform. lateral petals beardless; stolons short.......................................20 V. renifolia
Leaves broadly ovate, acute; lateral petals bearded; seeds obtuse at the base....21 V. incognita
Leaves ovate, acute , or acuminate; lateral petals beardless; seeds acute at base...22 V. blanda
Cleistogamous capsules ellipsoid; always green; peduncles erata bog and wet meadow species
Leaves broadly ovate or orbicular, cordate, obtuse.............................................23 V. pallens
Leaves oblong to ovate, the base slightly cordate to tapering ........................24 V. primulifloia
Leaves lanceolate to elliptical.........................................................................25 V. lanceolata
II. Leafy-stemmed; the flowers axillary
Style capitate, beakless, bearded near the summit, spur short; stipules nearly entire, soon scarious
Petals yellow
Sparingly pubescent; root-leaves usually one to three............................................................26 V. eriocarpa Markedly pubescent; root-leaves usaully wanting................................................................27 V. pubescens
Inner face of the petals white with yellow base, outer face usually violet; leaves usaully broadly ovate, acuminate, sublabrous...............................................................................................................................28 V. canadensis
Style not capiate, spur long; stipules bristly tooothed, herbaceous
Spur 2 to4 lines long; lateral petals bearded; styles bent at tip, with short beard
Petals white or cream colored.................................................................................................29 V. striata
Petals violet-blue
Herbage glabrous or nearly so; leaves orbicular or suborbicular
Stipules ovate-lanceolate, brisly serrate; leaves often 1 3/4 inches wide...................30 V. conspera
Stipules linear, entire except at base; leaves not over three-fourths of an inch wide; alpine............... 31 V. labradorica
Herbage puberulent; stems ascending; blades mostly ovate ..............................................32 V. adunca
Spur 4 to 6 lines long, lateral petals beardless; style straight and smooth...........................................33 V. rostrata
Style much enlarged upward into a globose, hollow summit; stipules large, leaflike, pectinate at base; upper leaves and middle lobe of stipules entire or nearly so; dry sandy places.....................................................34 V. rafinesquii
General Information
In some groups, allied species frequently hybidize when growing togther. These hybrids usually display characteristics intermediate between those of the two parent plants. They have increased vegatative strength but decreased fertility capabiliites. Throughout succeeding generations, the plants revert back to the characters of the two original species. The two main cultivated species are viloa odorata (english, marsh, or sweet violet) and viola triclor (pansy or heartsease). The Garden Pansy is the result of the hybridization of crosses of viola tricolor and allied species of the Old World. 120 species of violets are sold for cultivation as a domestic plant in the US.
For more information, see: http://homearts.com/cl/garden/03violf1.htm
REFERENCES
Coile, Nancy. The Georgia Plant List. UGA Herbarium, Athens.
Coon, Nelson. The Complete Book of Violets. A.S. Barnes and Co., Inc, USA. ISBN 0-498-02110-6
House, Homer J. Wildflowers. MacMillian Co, 1934.
Jones, Samuel B. Checklist of the Vascular Flora of Clarke County, Ga. UGA Herbarium, Athens.
Lawrence, George H. Taxonomy of Vascular Plants. MacMillian Co, NY. 1951
Rickett, William Harold. Wild Flowers of the United States. McGraw- Hill, NY. vols 1,2,3,4,5, and 6Coile, Nancy. The Georgia Plant List. UGA Herbarium, Athens.