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

Viola alba Besser

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Common names: 

Synon.: 

Description: Hemicryptophyte. Acaulescent, stoloniferous perennial usually without any red/blue colouring (anthocyanins usually lacking in all parts). Rhizome ± creeping, densely articulate, c. 3 mm thick, branched, with terminal leaf rosettes and lateral stolons. Rosette leaves several, hispid, wintering; stipules lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, (7–)10–15 × 1.5–2 mm, acute, pale or sometimes greenish, with sparse long fimbriae (c. 1 mm); petiole 6–15 cm; blade cordate, 5.5–7 × 3.5–5 cm; margins convex or straight towards the apex, crenate with 16–24 teeth; base cordate; apex acute or shortly acuminate. Stolons creeping, c. 1 mm thick and to 30 cm long, with 1.5–5 cm long internodes, ± rooting, in the second year with terminal and lateral leaf rosettes. Stolon leaves similar to the rosette leaves but usually smaller and blades often as wide as long or wider, triangular-reniform, with a shallowly cordate to almost truncate base.

Chasmogamous flowers heavily scented, from the leaf rosettes and from stolons. Pedicels of chasmogamous flowers with short hairs, 30–40 cm, ± exceeding the foliage at time of flowering; bracteoles c. 5 mm, in the middle third of the pedicel. Sepals oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, 5–6.5 × 1.7–2 mm (including the appendage); appendage c. 1 mm. Petals completely white, broad, obovate; upper petals 9–12 × 5–6 mm; lateral petals with or occasionally without hyaline hairs at the throat; spurred petal 12–15 × 5–7 mm including the spur; spur white or yellowish, 2.5–4 mm. 

Cleistogamous flowers 1–3 mm, on decumbent pedicel. Capsule globose, 5–8 mm, pilose, yellowish green, on decumbent pedicel, non-explosive. Seeds ellipsoid, c. 2 × 3 mm, ochre; elaiosome conspicuous, white. – Early spring (chasmogamous flowers); summer (cleistogamous flowers). [2n=20]

1. Viola alba Besser subsp. alba 

2. Viola alba subsp. dehnhardtii (Ten.) W. Becker 

3. Viola alba subsp. cretica (Boiss. & Heldr.) 

Distributional Range:

Native

• • Africa NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria (n.), Morocco (n.), Tunisia (n.)

  • Asia-Temperate  WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Iraq (n.), Syria, Turkey CAUCASUS: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation, [Dagestan] Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia]

  • Europe MIDDLE EUROPE: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland (s.), Slovakia, Switzerland EASTERN EUROPE: Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym) SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece (incl. Crete), Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), Macedonia,Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France (incl. Corsica), Spain (incl. Baleares)

Naturalized 

• • Europe  NORTHERN EUROPE: Sweden SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Portugal

Habitat: Moist, base-rich, moderately damp soil; requires sunny openings in the tree canopy and a not too dense ground vegetation cover. – Glades and sunny spots in deciduous woodland, coppices, along paths, gardens, and other disturbed ground. Hemerophilous.

References: 

1. Marcussen, T. 2003. Evolution, phylogeography, and taxonomy within the Viola alba complex (Violaceae). Pl. Syst. Evol. 237:51-74.