Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Malpighiales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Viola canadensis
FAMILY
Violaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
For the most current and comprehensive body of information regarding violets in our region, visit the new website Violets (Violaceae) of the Great Plains and Eastern North America.
Read more about Canada Violet at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
FAMILY
Violaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH A taxonomic treatment of the violets (Violaceae) of the northeastern US and adjacent Canada (Ballard, Kartesz, & Nishino, 2023)
Viola canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 6 (2015)
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
INCLUDED WITHIN Violaceae of the Southeastern US (McKinney & Russell, 2002)
Viola canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
INCLUDING VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 130-02-021a:
Viola canadensis var. canadensis FAMILY Violaceae
INCLUDING (MISAPPLIED AS TO PLANTS IN OUR AREA)atpioa Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Viola canadensis var. rugulosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Viola canadensis
COMMON NAME:
Canada Violet, Tall White Violet
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_viola_canadensis_3
March
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_202264839239462
April SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_3439381106277712
April SC
Jocassee Gorges
Backs of the petals are usually tinged with violet, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_758589912524763
April SC
Jocassee Gorges
The tallest violet in southern mountains, this bears flowers in leaf axils, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Herbarium of Clemson University h_cu57185
April Graham County NC
Has leafy stems & leaves that are heart-shaped with long-pointed apices, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0504l_23
April Henderson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm080420_147
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
White flowers with a yellow eye and purple veins near the base of the petals, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm180414_305
April Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm200409_3602
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm220421_7090
April Pickens County SC
Nine Times Preserve
)
Keith Bradley kab_viola_canadensis_0887
April Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm090503_092
May Polk County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm090503_094
May Polk County NC
Petals white with a yellow center, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_157
May Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Keith Bradley kab_viola_canadensis_7997
May NC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_viola_canadensis_5
May
)
Herbarium of Clemson University h_cu44826
June Greenville County SC
Table Rock Reservoir watershed
)
JK Marlow jkm230623_4171
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Viola canadensis
FAMILY
Violaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
FAMILY
Violaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
A taxonomic treatment of the violets (Violaceae) of the northeastern US and adjacent Canada (Ballard, Kartesz, & Nishino, 2023)
Viola canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 6
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
INCLUDED WITHIN
Violaceae of the Southeastern US (McKinney & Russell, 2002)
Viola canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
INCLUDING
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 130-02-021a:
Viola canadensis var. canadensis
FAMILY
Violaceae
INCLUDING (MISAPPLIED AS TO PLANTS IN OUR AREA)atpioa
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968)
Viola canadensis var. rugulosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Viola canadensis
1643
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Rich cove forests, other rich mesic situations, such as floodplains, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, rare in Piedmont
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Plant caulescent (with an obvious, leafy, above-ground stem). Leaves alternate
Margins crenate-serrate
Leaves glabrous or with some short stiff trichomes
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
(with a yellow center, and tinged with violet beneath)
Bilaterally symmetrical
Lateral petals bearded
5 sepals
5 petals
5 stamens
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p188
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p038
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p129
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p136
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p056
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p076
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p157
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p348
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p073
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p096
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p465
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p101
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".