Native Violets

by Charlotte Lukes

The spring season is when a great variety of native violets come into bloom, but this is a modest, lowgrowing plant that one could miss on a woodland hike. There are speci c habitats for certain species, and some of the most delicate are found in wetlands such as those at The Ridges Sanctuary in Baileys Harbor. My upper hardwood land has a nice selection of these petite, but beautiful owers. When I moved to Door County more than 50 years ago, I wanted to learn more about wild violets. There are many blue or purple-blue owers, and during my studies, I learned that some of them can hybridize. That means a plant has characteristics of two species.

White violets, such as those found in bogs and wet areas, can be very tiny. The small, or wild, white violet and the kidney-leaved violet have owers that are a quarter-inch to a half-inch wide. An upland hardwood has Canada violets that can be eight to 16 inches tall, with a ower that is nearly an inch and a half wide. The Canada violet is distinctive in that it has pale purple on the back of the white petals.

Three of my favorite ower eld guides give di erent names for some species. The rst book that I used back in 1972 is Spring Flora of Wisconsin by Norman C. Fassett. It was originally printed by the University of Wisconsin Press in 1931, and I use the third edition, published in 1967.

The two others are Newcomb’s Wild ower Guide by Lawrence Newcomb, produced by Little, Brown and Co. in 1977; and Wild owers of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region by Merel R. Black and Emmet J. Judziewicz. That was printed in 2009 by the University of Wisconsin Press. All three are very good for our state.

There are several important features to note when identifying these delicate plants. Do the owers bloom above the leaves, or are the leaves taller than the blossoms? Is the plant hairy or smooth?

What is the leaf shape, and is it toothed or smooth edged?

One feature that is easy to see by examining the whole plant is the ower stem. On some, it arises directly from the ground and does not have any leaves. That feature is called “stemless.” Other plants have leaves and owers on the same structure, making them “stemmed.”

Another part of the ower to examine is the spur: a tubular extension of the lowest petal. This can be short and blunt, long and curved, or anything in between. You may nd that this petal or the two lower side petals are “bearded,” which means they have a coating of hairs. This helps to protect the pollen in the spur from being diluted by rain.

The plant leaves have tiny, leaf-like structures at the base of the stem. These are called stipules, and their shape and edges are important to examine. Some are smooth, and others have many teeth.

Some species are fairly easy to identify, such as the downy yellow violet and the Canada violet. Others need close examination of the many parts in order to make an identi cation. The group that can be quite confusing is the heartleaved, stemless blue violets.

Violets are in the genus Viola, the same one for the well-known cultivated pansy that many people plant in their gardens. Wild native violets are usually perennial. Once the ower has nished blooming, the leaves stay alive until there’s a frost. The plant lives through the winter as an underground “stem,” called a rhizome, which stores food made by the leaves. It’s the presence of this food that helps these plants bloom so early in spring.

Bees are the most frequent pollinator of violets, most of which have two di erent types of owers. Once the showy owers are gone, the plant produces owers that appear like young buds near the ground and are o en hidden below the leaves. They have no petals and never open. They are self-pollinated and self-fertilized, without any help from insects. Fortunately, these produce more seeds than the rst owers.

Door County has 15 species of violets, according to Wild owers of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region. Nine have blue to pale violet colors; ve are white; and one is yellow. My late husband, Roy, photographed the great-spurred or Selkirk’s violet only once on the Marshall’s Point property many years ago. One of my favorites to nd is the long-spurred violet. It is pale purple, with a very long spur, and is found mainly in counties bordering Lake Michigan.

Many people know a ower called the Johnny-jump-up. It has deep-purple petals with a broad, yellow center. It is small, can become invasive and is considered a garden escapee.

Whether you grow pansies or enjoy the native violets, they are a delightful start to the spring season.