E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Viola sororia Willd.
northern violet
Violaceae (Violet family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Viola sororia
Click here to view our interactive map and legend

Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a scaly rootstalk, without stolons, plants up to 20 cm long; stems lacking.

Leaves:
Basal leaves heart- to triangular-shaped, 2-7 cm long, 3-7 cm wide, coarsely toothed, stiff-hairy, the stalks 3-20 cm long; stem leaves lacking; stipules membranous, oblong-lanceolate, 5-10 mm long, glandular-fringed.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of single, axillary flowers; petals 5, bluish-violet, the lower petal 12-20 mm long including the 1- to 2-mm long spur, the lower 3 white-based and long-hairy at the base; sepals 5, lanceolate, fringed; style heads smooth.

Fruits:
Capsules, smooth, nearly round, purplish; seeds dark brown.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Purple

Blooming Period:
Mid Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer

Source: The USDA

Habitat / Range

Mesic to moist open forests in the montane zone; rare in S BC; disjunct in SK, ON, E to NF and S to ME, NH, PA, NC, TN, IA, NE, MT and WA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S3	Blue	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Viola septentrionalis Greene

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-10-19 1:38:47 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.