Stemless White Violets in Pennsylvania

Gosh they're confusing. Here's a summary table derived from the master key on Harvey Ballard's website. These are only notes; please cite his website/papers, not this journal entry, which is just a PA-centric re-formatting, including many direct quotations. Again, this is not my work.

Viola odorata can also have white petals sometimes, but it's usually pretty easy to distinguish from this group based on its style shape and large flowers.

Viola...	lanceolata	primulifolia	renifolia	minuscula	blanda	incognita
leaf blades length vs. width	3 – 8×	1.5 – 2×	< 1.2 ×	< 1.2 ×	< 1.2 ×	< 1.2 ×
base	cuneate	rounded – subcordate	deeply cordate	shallowly to deeply cordate	deeply cordate	shallowly, broadly cordate
carriage**			lying on substrate (or widely spreading)	elevated and spreading	elevated and spreading	elevated and spreading
color			bicolorous (darker green above)	faces uniformly green	bicolorous (darker green above)	bicolorous (darker green above)
pubescence			entirely glabrous or dense on one or both surfaces	strictly glabrous	glabrous except for scattered appressed hairs on upper surface	glabrous or sparsely to densely hirsute, including petiole
shape			broadly ovate or suborbicular to broadly reniform, occasionally suborbicular	narrowly to broadly ovate, deltate-ovate, suborbicular or subreniform (very rarely reniform) apex abruptly apiculate, obtuse or rounded	at least some broader than long apex obtuse to acute-acuminate	at least some broader than long apex obtuse to acute-acuminate
margins				usually shallowly crenate	shallowly crenate	low-serrate, teeth noticeable
sinus length					< ¼ length of blade	> ¼ length of blade (often > ⅓)
basal lobes					touching or overlapping	well-separated or divergent
petioles					red-tinged or spotted	greenish
rhizome			vertical, twisted lacking stolons*	horizontal, stoloniform producing stolons*	horizontal, stoloniform producing stolons*	horizontal, stoloniform producing stolons*
lateral petals			beardless (or nearly so)	beardless (or nearly so)	beardless	bearded
cleistogamous capsule coloration			purple-spotted	unspotted or with fine red spots	red-purple to purple spots/blotches	purple spots/blotches
peduncle			short and prostrate arcing upward only when opening	long and erect, often surpassing petioles	prostrate, then arcing, sometimes surpassing petioles	prostrate, then arcing, much shorter than petioles
length /mm					3.5 – 8	7 – 14
seeds color			orange-brown – brown unspotted	med- dark- olive-brown or brownish-black fine black spots	brownish-blackish unspotted	light to medium brown unspotted
dimensions /mm			1.7 – 2.4 × 1.2 – 1.4	0.8 – 1.4 × 0.7 – 0.8	1.2 – 1.3 × 0.7 – 0.8	1.6 – 2.2 × 1.0 – 1.3

*stolons may be above or below surface of substrate, and may not be apparent until summer.
**in life, especially during fruiting

Synonymy with the taxa currently on iNat:

*V. minuscula*	*V. blanda*	*V. incognita*
V. macloskeyi (in part) V. pallens (in part?) V. pallens ssp. pallens V. pallens ssp. subreptans V. macloskeyi ssp. pallens	V. blanda (in part) V. blanda var. blanda	V. blanda (in part) V. blanda var. palustriformis

Posted on April 22, 2021 12:52 AM by

ddennism

Stemless White Violets in Pennsylvania

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