Violets & Pansies
What are they?
Violets and pansies are well known and well liked as habingers of spring and as attractive plants for the garden flower border. Flowers are either violet (of course!) or white in color and many species often form quite extensive patches.
Where are they found?
Violets are well known to most people as those cheery spring and early summer flowers of dappled woodland or swampy ground. Pansies are typically plants of open fields and often grow as annuals in arable farmland or gardens.
Identification
Identifying some violet species can be tricky, not least because some of them hybridize quite readily. Narrowing the species down by the shape of its leaf and style of growth is a good start, followed by closer attention to the flowers.
Bird's-foot Violet Viola pedata
Found in dry, often sunny spots along woodland edge and roadsides. Easily identified by its deeply cut leaves and the bright orange center to the flower. Flowers April to May.
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orange center |
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Common Blue Violet Viola sororia
Not uncommon in moist, loamy soils in open woods and field margins. A rather variable species which now encompasses a number of forms which were once considered separate species, including the blue and white form priceana, often called the Confederate Violet, which is grown in gardens and sometimes escapes into the wider countryside. Flowers April to May.
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two-colored |
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Marsh Blue Violet Viola cucullata
Fairly frequent in wet bottomlands of bogs and woods. Flowers late April to May. Leaves usually triangular with a broadly heart-shaped base.
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Arrow-leaved Violet Viola sagittata
A fairly common species which is pretty much a generalist and can be found in a wide range of situations, from woodland to meadows, roadsides and open marshland. Flowers April to May.
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early-season leaf |
four lobes at base |
Northern Coast Violet Viola brittoniana
Uncommon in wet bottomlands and occasionally even in slightly brackish marshes. Flowers late April to June.
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early-season leaves |
Lance-leaved Violet Viola lanceolata
A common species of marshy meadows and swamps, often growing in quite large colonies. A rather variable species, but some presumed variability may be due to hybridization with other violet species. Flowers late April to June.
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broad-petalled |
narrow-petalled |
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Primrose-leaved Violet Viola primulifolia
Quite common in swamps, marshes and clearings in wet woodland. One of the more common violet hybrids with Lance-leaved Violet (V. lanceolata) and Northern White Violet (V. macloskeyi) said to be the parents - though the latter is not recorded from Cape May County. Leaf shape is rather variable, reflecting the difference in leaf shape of the parents. Flowers April to June.
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square-based |
lance-shaped |
American Dog Violet Viola labradorica
Quite common in shady swamps and wet woodland. Another rather variable group of forms which were once considered several different species. The New Jersey form was previously called Viola conspersa in many books. Unlike many species of violet, the leaves arise from short stems, rather than directly from the ground. Flowers April to May.
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American Field Pansy Viola bicolor
Perhaps once more common but now a scarce plant, found in areas of short grass such as lawns. Small colonies persist in North Cape May but are seriously threatened by persistent over-use of lawn weedkillers. Flowers late March to May. Differs from European Field Pansy in its relatively short sepals which are more like those of the violets.
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European Field Pansy Viola arvensis
An introduced species that can be a common to abundant annual in old fields, roadsides and other open, disturbed ground. Flowers can sometimes be tinged bluish. Flowers April to July or sometimes later.
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Wild Pansy Viola tricolor
(Heartsease) Introduced from Europe and the ancestral parent of many pansy varieties grown as garden plants (Johnny-jump-ups). Probably once more common but now a rare plant of disturbed or waste ground. Flowers April to June or sometimes later. A rather variable plant in flower size and color but always larger and more showy than European Field Pansy, with which it often hybridizes.
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