kingdom Plantae - plants »  divisio Magnoliophyta - flowering plants »  class Rosopsida - eudicots » order Malpighiales »  family Violaceae »  tribus Violeae > genus Viola > Viola sect. Melanium  Ging. 

Viola altaica Ker Gawl.

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Common names: Фиалка алтайская (altaic lamp);  阿尔泰堇菜 a er tai jin cai 

Synon.: Viola monochroa Klokov

Description: Herbs perennial, 4-15 cm tall. Rhizome slender, branched. Stems very short, densely covered with numerous leaves usually clustered. Stipules ovate or oblong, 1-2.6 cm × 4-11 mm, pinnatifid, terminal lobe larger, oblong-ovate, lateral lobes 2 or 3 on each side, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, margin sparsely puberulous; petiole usually longer than leaf blade; leaf blade orbicular-ovate or oblong-ovate, 1.2-2 × 1-1.4 cm, both surfaces subglabrous or sparsely puberulous, base ± cuneate, margin rounded-dentate, apex obtuse. Flowers usually solitary, yellow or blue purple, large, 2-4.5 cm in diam.; pedicels 5-16 cm, glabrous. Sepals oblong-lanceolate, 8-13 × 3-4 mm, margin usually remotely denticulate, apex ± acute, basal auricles broader, often denticulate. Upper petals subovate-orbicular, lateral ones and anterior one conspicuously purple-black striate, lateral ones inside usually slightly barbate at base; spur of anterior petal 3-4 mm, slightly exceeding basal auricles of sepals, usually slightly curved upward. Capsule oblong-ovoid. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Sep. 2n = 54. 

Distributional Range: Native Asia-Temperate SIBERIA: Russian Federation [Buryatia, Tuva, Chita, Aga Buryat, Irkutsk] MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan MONGOLIA: Mongolia CHINA: China [Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu]

Habitat:  Alpine and subalpine meadows, forests on mountain slopes, grasslands, among mosses and lichens; 1500-4000 m. 

References:

1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource) URL: www.skud.info

2. Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.

3. Czerepanov, S. K. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR) Cambridge University Press.

4. Davis, P. H., ed. 1965-1988. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands.

5. Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage

6. Grubov, V. I. 2001. Key to the vascular plants of Mongolia

7. Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening

8. Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.

9. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third.