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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE VIOLET FAMILY | |||||||||
| Violets can be annual or perennial herbs or shrubs. The leaves are simple and may be basal or on a leafy stem. This family has stipules, or paired bracts, below the leaves. The stipules are usually attached to the base of the leaf stalk. The flowers are usually irregular in shape. There are five sepals which may or may not have ear-like lobes at the base. There are five petals that range from white to yellow, green or purple in colour. The lower petals are usually spurred. | |||||||||
| ALPINE VIOLET | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Viola labradorica | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Alpine violet is a leafy-stemmed plant that grows from slender rhizomes. The leaves are heart-shaped to kidney-shaped and have toothed margins. The stipules are narrow and do not have a toothed margin. The flowers are solitary in the axils of leaves. The petals are deep or blue-violet and the side petals are bearded. The flowers have five stamens. The fruit is a 3-valved capsule. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Alpine violet grows in dry to moist meadows, woods, and open ground near the timberline. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in northeastern Saskatchewan in the Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Alpine violet is endangered because it is extremely rare in Saskatchewan. No collections have been made of this species in the province. Possible threats have been identified. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY ALPINE VIOLET | |||||||||
| * Are the petals deep or blue-violet? * Is the stem leafy? * Do the sepals lack marginal hairs? * Did you find it in northeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found alpine violet! | |||||||||
