kingdom Plantae - plants »  divisio Magnoliophyta - flowering plants »  class Rosopsida - eudicots » order Malpighiales »  family Violaceae »  tribus Violeae > genus Viola > Viola sect. Viola  L. > Viola subsect. Rostratae Kupffer    

Viola elatior Fr. - Fen Violet

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Synon.: Viola canina subsp. elatior (Fries) Rouy & Fouc.; Viola erecta Gilib.; Viola hornemanniana Schult.; Viola montana L.; Viola persicifolia Schreb.; Viola canina subsp. persicifolia (Schreber) Čelak.; Viola stipulacea Hartm.

Common name: Viola maggiore, Violette élevée, Hohes Veilchen, Tall violet

Description: Hemicryptophyte. Rhizomatous, caulescent perennial. Rhizome vertical, branching at or below the soil surface, covered with brown stipules; terminal leaf rosette absent. Aerial stems erect, to 50(–60) cm, covered with short, white, downward-pointing hairs. Stem leaves up to 8; stipules of upper leaves oblong-elliptic to 40 mm, 1.5–2.5 times as long as the petiole, green, hairy, entire or at the base with 1–2 coarse teeth; petiole of upper leaves to 2.5 cm, hairy; blade narrowly oblong to narrowly triangular, 35–60 × 12–22 mm, 2.5–3.5 times as long as wide, longer than the petiole, light green, covered with short, white hairs; margin entire or serrate with up to 12 forwards-pointing acute teeth; base cuneate, truncate or slightly cordate, not decurrent onto the petiole; apex acute.

Chasmogamous flowers scentless, from the upper part of the aerial stems. Pedicels hairy, to 5 cm, shorter than the subtending leaves; bracteoles subulate, in the upper half of the pedicel. Sepals lanceolate, acute, finely hairy at the margin, upper ones 5.5–10 × 1.2–2 mm, lateral ones 7–10 × 2–2.6 mm (in both cases excluding the appendage); appendage suborbicular to truncate, on upper sepals 1–2 × 0.8–1.8 mm, on lateral sepals 1.2–2.4 × 1.6–2.6 mm, all 0.16–0.32 times as long as the rest of the sepal. Corolla 20 × 17 mm, 1.1 times as high as wide, cup-shaped in front view. Petals light blue, white at the base; upper petals recurved, obovate, obtuse, 13–17 × 5–8 mm, 1.9–2.7 times as 6–8 mm, 2–2.5 times as long as wide, with hyaline hairs at the throat; spurred petal sligtly concave, 13.5–16.5 × 7–9 mm excluding the spur, 1.6–2 times as long as wide; spur light green to yellow-green, cylindric, 3.5–5 × 2–3 mm, 1.3–2 times as long as wide, 1.7–4.5 times as long as the sepal appendages. Style papillose at the tip. Cleistogamous flowers 5–7 mm, produced above the chasmogamous flowers or on side branches. Capsule ovoid, trigonous, acute, 6–8 mm, glabrous, explosive. Seeds ovoid, 1.4–1.6 × 0.65–0.8 mm, pale to light brown; elaiosome small. – Mid-spring to early summer (chasmogamous flowers), early summer to early autumn (cleistogamous flowers).

[2n=40]

Distributional Range: Native Asia-Temperate WESTERN ASIA: Iran CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia] SIBERIA: Russian Federation [Altay, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tyumen] MIDDLE ASIA: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan CHINA: China [Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu] Europe MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland EASTERN EUROPE: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russian Federation-European part, [European part] Ukraine SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Bulgaria, Former Yugoslavia, Italy, Romania SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France

Habitat:  In light shade or (more rarely) full sun on calcareous ground which is inundated in spring. – Shrubby grassland, woodland fringes, glades, damp meadows, karst alvar; rarely apophytic in ditches

Taxonomy. Viola elatior is not the earliest available name for this species. The type for V. montana L., as lectotypified by Nikitin (1988; see also Nikitin 1995), belongs here, so V. montana would be the correct name. However, the name V. montana has been widely used for plants belonging to V. canina; further use of the name V. montana would therefore cause confusion, and it has been proposed for rejection (see Danihelka et al. 2009).

Clausen (1927) reported formation of quadrivalents during meiosis in Viola elatior, and it has been interpreted as an autotetraploid. Since this is the only report of autopolyploidy within sect. Viola, it is in need of verification.

Hybridization. Hybrids of Viola elatior are known with V. pumila , V. riviniana and V. stagnina.

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. Applequist, W. L. 2012. Report of the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants: 64. Taxon 61:1110. Note: proposal recommended

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

4. Czerepanov, S. K. 1995. Vascular plants of Russia and adjacent states (the former USSR) Cambridge University Press. Note: = Viola montana L.

5. Danihelka, J. et al. 2010. (1985) Proposal to conserve the name Viola elatior against V. hornemanniana and V. stipulacea (Violaceae). Taxon 59:1902-1903.

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

7. Khatamsaz, M. 1989. Studies on the Violaceae family in Iran. Iranian J. Bot. 4:171-182.

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

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

10. Pignatti, S. 1982. Flora d'Italia.

11. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.

12. Wilson, K. L. 2016. Report of the General Committee: 13. Taxon 65:381. Note: proposal recommended