Plants & Crops Codexery

Viola (plant)

A large genus of flowering plants, including violets and pansies.

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Viola species can be annual or perennial herbs, shrubs, or rarely treelets.[1] The genus Viola was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 with 19 species.[2] Within the eudicot family Violaceae, the genus Viola is one of roughly 25 genera, and its species count is estimated at 500 to 600.[3]

Scientific classification

  1. CladeTracheophytes
  2. CladeAngiosperms
  3. CladeEudicots
  4. CladeRosids
  5. OrderMalpighiales
  6. FamilyViolaceae
  7. GenusViola

Named by L.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Viola (plant) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Type species
Viola odorata

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

The flowers are strongly zygomorphic with bilateral symmetry, solitary, and have five petals: four upswept and one broad, lobed lower petal.[1] After flowering, thick-walled fruit capsules dehisce by three valves and may eject seeds several meters.[4] The worldwide northern temperate distribution distinguishes Viola from the largely tropical Violaceae genera.[5] One fossil seed of †Viola rimosa was extracted from Middle Miocene deposits in Poland.[6]

Many Viola species are used as food plants by larvae of Lepidoptera, including fritillary butterflies.[7] Plants without stems (acaulescent taxa) produce leaves and flowers that seem to emerge directly from the soil, whereas other plants have short stems and bear leaves and flowers in the leaf axils.[1] The main areas where species diversity is concentrated are mountainous parts of eastern Asia, Melanesia, southern Europe, the Andes, and the southern Patagonian cone.[5] Evidence suggests the genus originated in South America, with the Andes being the most probable location.[6]

What the specialist sources record

The statesymbolsusa.org account notes that there are 400-500 species of violet distributed around the world, most in the temperate northern hemisphere.[8] Rhode Island's school children voted the violet as the state flower in 1897, but it was not officially adopted until 1968.[8] New Jersey specified the common meadow violet (Viola sororia) as its official state flower in 1971.[9] Wisconsin designated the wood violet (Viola papilionacea) as its official state flower on Arbor Day in 1909, chosen by school children in 1908.[10]

The statesymbolsusa.org account states that violets have simple leaves that grow only at the base of the plant.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Viola (plant)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ballard et al 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Viola (plant)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Linnaeus 1753; WFO 2019; Jussieu 1789; Lindley 1853; Batsch 1802; IPNI 2020; Bentham Hooker 1862; de Lamarck de Candolle 1815; Gingins 1823; Saint-Hilaire 1824; Candolle 1824 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Viola (plant)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wahlert et al 2014; Yockteng et al 2003; Ballard et al 1998 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Viola (plant)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cullen 2001, p. p. 345; Rendle 1925, p. p. 208; Cronquist 1981; Ballard et al 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Viola (plant)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ballard et al 2013; Ballard Iltis 2012; Yoo Jang 2010; Yockteng et al 2003 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Viola (plant)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Łańcucka-Środoniowa 1979; Yockteng et al 2003; Ballard et al 1998 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Viola (plant)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kopper et al 2000; Beattie 1971 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Rhode Island State Flower - Violet", statesymbolsusa.org, 13 October 2014. facts only, no text reused. statesymbolsusa.org
  9. "New Jersey State Flower - Violet", statesymbolsusa.org, 27 May 2014. facts only, no text reused. statesymbolsusa.org
  10. "Wisconsin State Flower - Wood Violet", statesymbolsusa.org, 25 April 2014. facts only, no text reused. statesymbolsusa.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Viola (plant) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Test yourself on TriviaCafe: To which biological family does the Viola belong: Fabaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Poaceae or Violaceae? · More science trivia

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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