Viola primulifolia var. primulifolia

Leaf-blades elliptic, ovate, or widely ovate, base broadly cordate to attenuate, surfaces sparsely pubescent, rarely glabrous. Cleistogamous flowers present.

Phenology: Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat: Eaton forests, hardwood-pine swamp forests, white cedar swamps, often in Sphagnum or other mosses
Elevation: 100–2500 m

Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., W.Va.

Discussion

Some workers have suggested that var. primulifolia is a hybrid between V. lanceolata and either V. macloskeyi or V. blanda. The distributions of V. macloskeyi and V. blanda overlap with V. lanceolata and var. primulifolia in parts of the northeast United States; var. primulifolia has its greatest distribution along the southern Atlantic coast throughout much of the southeast where neither V. macloskeyi nor V. blanda occur, except in the southern Appalachians.

Variety primulifolia reportedly hybridizes with V. lanceolata (= V. ×modesta House) and V. macloskeyi (= V. ×mollicula House).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa