Bird's-foot violet (Viola pedata) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 5

Update
COSEWIC Status Report
on the
Bird’s-foot Violet
Viola pedata
in Canada
2002

Species Information

Name and Classification

Scientific name:

Viola pedata L.


Common Name:

Bird’s-foot violet


Family Name:

Violaceae (Violet Family)


Major Plant Group:

Angiosperm (dicot flowering plant)



Description

Bird’s-foot violet is a stemless herb with leaves and flowering stalks arising directly from an erect, non-stoloniferous rhizome (Figure 1). The leaves are primarily three-parted with the divisions being further subdivided into three to five linear segments. The flowers are born singly on the ends of long stalks that generally overtop the leaves. The single flowers are flatter than most other violets and are lilac-purple in colour (Ballard, 1987). The five petals may be all the same colour or the upper two may be darker than the lower three (Kavanagh et al., 1990).


Figure 1: Viola pedata

Figure 1: Viola pedata

Photo courtesy of Marty Lucas, Becknell andLucas Media Ltd., North Judson, IN.

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