Viola palmata

Viola palmata
At the University of Wrocław Botanical Garden
Close-up of leaf
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Violaceae
Genus:	Viola
Species:	V. palmata
Binomial name
Viola palmata L.
Synonyms
List Viola congener Leconte Viola cucullata var. congener (Leconte) Torr. & A.Gray Viola cucullata var. palmata (L.) A.Gray Viola falcata Greene Viola ornithodes Greene Viola palmata f. albiflora E.L.Rand & Redfield Viola palmata var. asarifolia House Viola palmata var. dilatata Elliott Viola palmata var. fragrans Elliott Viola palmata var. obliqua Hitchc. Viola palmata f. striata O.R.Willis Viola palmata var. triloba (Schwein.) Ging. Viola palmata var. variegata Stowell Viola palmata f. variegata (Stowell) E.L.Rand & Redfield Viola palmata var. vulgaris Elliott Viola triloba Schwein. Viola triloba f. albida Steyerm. Viola triloba f. annjoae Creutz Viola triloba var. dilatata (Elliott) Brainerd Viola triloba f. dilatata (Elliott) E.J.Palmer & Steyerm. Viola vespertilionis Greene

Viola palmata, the trilobed violet, early blue violet, or wood violet (names it shares with other members of its genus), is a species of flowering plant in the family Violaceae. Viola palmata is native to southeastern Canada as well as the eastern half of the United States. Often confused with Viola triloba, V. palmata is a member of a class familiarly known as "blue stemless violets"; characterized by its cleistogamous flowers on short prostrate peduncles, and often concealed under dead leaves or soil.

Description

Viola palmata is a perennial with an acaulescent stem. It has basal, ascending to erect leaves, with entire margins and an acute apex. The basal leaves are glabrous to pubescent, with the earliest leaves unlobed and the midseason leaves having 3-9 lobes. Usually midseason blades are elliptic, ovate, lanceolate, spatulate, obdeltate, or falcate. Viola palmata's non-basal leaves have bases that are truncate to cordate, with margins serrate or entire, usually ciliate, with apexes acute, rounded, blunt, or obtuse, and have glabrous surfaces or pubescence throughout or along veins. The flowers of Viola palmata have lanceolate sepals, with ciliate or eciliate margins. The petals are violet on both surfaces, with the lower 3 basally white and the lower 3 and upper 2 are sometimes purple-veined. Viola palmata has beige seeds that are mottled to bronze. When fruiting, the seeds are plump and 2 mm long and the caruncle is not prolonged. Viola palmata is a summer forb. It has been recorded flowering January through May, August, September, and in December with peak inflorescence in February and March. It has been observed fruiting February, March, April, August and September. Populations of Viola palmata have been known to persist through repeated annual burns and it has been observed flowering February and March after a fire.

Taxonomy

Viola palmata was first described by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum on May 1st 1753. Nomenclature and typification have been problematic. Viola palmata is commonly confused with V. subsinuata but their homophylly and heterophylly tendencies differentiates them. 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. Gil-Ad chose not to recognize the name V. palmata, choosing instead to recognize V. triloba. However, most botanist believe that this conclusion was drawn from an impure type-specimen and recognize Viola palmata as the appropriate name for this taxon. V. triloba and V. palmata can be differentiated by the cut of their leaves; in the palmata subgroup uncut leaves are very rare, while in the triloba subgroup they frequently occur. Notably in the palmata group leaves are palmately cut, while in the triloba group leaves are cut pedatley. Another common misnomer for V. palmata is the palmata, var. dilatata of Elliott; Elliot described a violet appearing common to Northern Georgia and the carolinas, but this variety has been dismissed by botanists due to its similarity to other previously described species in the genus.

The Japanese name for Viola palmata is Kuwagatasumire (クワガタミレ, 鍬形菫). The Korean name for V. palmata is Chang-won-je-bi-kkot (창원제비꽃) and is based off of the location at which it was initially collected in Korea.

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  Here given as palmate-leaved violet
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  Habit
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  Flower bud
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  Frontal close-up of flower
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  Empty seed capsule