Viola pubescens

Downy yellow violet

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Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Violaceae
Genus: Viola
Species:
V. pubescens
Binomial name
Viola pubescens
Closeup of flower

Viola pubescens, commonly called the downy yellow violet, is a plant species of the genus Viola and is classified within the subsection Nudicaules of section Chamaemelanium.[1] It is a widespread North American violet found in rich, mesic woodlands, and sometimes in meadows, from Minnesota and Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south to Virginia.[2] V. pubescens produces two different types of flowers during the season, including chasmogamous flowers in the early spring and cleistogamous flowers summer through fall.[3]

Similar-looking species include the round-leaved yellow violet (Viola rotundifolia). The two species can be differentiated by leaf shape and leaf margin. Additionally, V. pubescens has both basal and cauline leaves,[2] while V. rotundifolia has only basal leaves.[4]

  1. ^ Ballard, H.E. Jr.; Sytsma, K.J.; Kowal, R. (October 1998). "Shrinking the violets: Phylogenetic relationships of infrageneric groups in Viola (Violaceae) based on Internal Transcribed Spacer DNA sequences". Systematic Botany. 23 (4): 439. doi:10.2307/2419376. JSTOR 2419376.
  2. ^ a b Gleason, H.A.; Cronquist, A. (1991). Manual of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Bronx, NY: The New York Botanical Garden Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-89327-365-1.
  3. ^ Ballard, H.E.; Cortes-Palomec, A.C.; Feng, M.; Wang, Y.; Wyatt, S.E. (2011). "The chasmogamous/cleistogamous mixed breeding system, a widespread and evolutionarily successful reproductive strategy in angiosperms.". Frontiers in biodiversity studies. Rajasthan, India: Agrobios: Bioscience Publications. pp. 16–41.
  4. ^ "Viola rotundifolia". Connecticut Plants. Connecticut Botanical Society. 2015.