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 canescens Wall. ex Roxb.

| Bio Lib |eFlora of India | eFlora of Pakistan

Synon.: Viola serpens var. canescens (Wall. ex Roxb.) Hook. f. & Thorns. 

Common names:  Himalayan White Violet .

Description: Prostrate, pubescent or subglabrous herb, with long, cylindrical and branched roots. Stem absent. Leaves basal, 2.0-10 x 1.0-5.0 cm, broadly ovate subreniform, cordate, obtuse to acute, serrate-crenate, five nerved beneath, petiole almost double the length of the lamina, pubescent; stipules free, lanceolate, 5.0-20 x 1.0-3.0 mm, acute-acuminate, reddish at base, laciniate, laciniae as long as broad. Flowers small, 1.0-1.8 cm long, violet to pale violet, on erect, pubescent, (3-) 5-15 cm long peduncle; bracteoles 2, opposite to subopposite, almost at middle of the peduncle, setaceous. Sepals 5, linear-lanceolate, acute, entire, inequal, obscurely trinerved, lateral sepal large, upto 10 mm long, c. 2 mm broad, dentate near base, others c. 8.0 x 3.0 mm. Petals upto 15 mm long, c. 4.0 mm broad, obovate, obtuse, puberulous at the base, upper two cuneate, two lateral narrower and bearded at the base, marked with dark coloured streaks, lower most shortest, with dark coloured stripes. Spur short, c. 4 mm long, compressed, obtuse, mostly straight or reflexed. Style club shaped; ovary ovate, hairy; capsule globose, pubescent or glabrous, many-seeded. 

Distributional Range: Native Asia-Tropical INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan, India, [Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh] Nepal, Pakistan

Habitat: Mountain valleys, grasslands on mountain slopes, forest margins, thickets, fields; 1500-2400 m.   

References: 

1. Bosser, J. M. et al., eds. 1976-. Flores des Mascareignes. Note: mentions

2. Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim. Note: mentions; probably synonymous with Viola pilosa Blume

3. Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal. Note: lists as Viola canescens Wall.

4. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.

5. Polunin, O. & A. Stainton. 1984. Flowers of the Himalaya Note: lists as Viola canescens Wall.

6. Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.

7. Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.