Wisconsin Native Violets
Common Blue Violet
Wisconsin State Flower
As you wander in the woods you'll be amazed at how many violet species turn
up, including white, yellow and even green flowered species.
Violets are often bemoaned as weeds when found in lawns and otherwise impugned for their tendency to easily
reseed and spread.
Fourteen native violet species are listed for Wisconsin. The
Common Blue Violet,
Viola sororia, is the Wisconsin state flower.
Butterflies seem to be able to find the violets even after they have wilted
and blown away. It is possible that they can smell the roots of violets. Curiously, females of other species of
fritillaries do not appear to be terribly careful about finding the presence of violets. They seem to choose
shaded, weedy places that are likely to favor the growth of violets, thus many eggs are lost when the larvae
search in vain for their food and cannot find it. These mothers can afford to be careless because they lay as
many as two thousand eggs, so it does not matter if many are lost.
With their heart shaped leaves and cheery blue flowers, violets aren’t really bad guys – in fact they are the host
plant for a wide range of butterflies known as fritillaries. Like monarchs, whose caterpillars only feed on
milkweed, the fourteen species of greater fritillaries (genus Speyeria) and sixteen lesser fritillaries (genus
Bolloria) will only lay their eggs where there are violets for their larva to feed
upon.
Violets are also host plants for the Mining Bee, a specialist
pollinator that only visits violets.
Violets gain the benefits of genetic diversity through insect pollination as well as of being able to
reproduce outside of insect pollinators' range through self-pollination.
An interesting thing about violets, members of the genus viola, is that most species after producing regular
flowers will sometimes form tiny, inconspicuous flowers, cleistogamous flowers that look simply like buds that
haven't bloomed. These flowers are being pollinated, but through self-pollination! The pollen travels from the
stamen down into the flower's own ovary.
Pollinators such as bees never can get to the flowers' sexual parts, and the flowers are obliged
to fertilize themselves with their own pollen. The violet flowers gain the benefits of
genetic diversity through insect pollination as well as of being able to grow outside of
insect pollinators range through self-pollination.
Of course with self-fertilizing like this there is no mingling of genetic information from two different parents.
However, this was accomplished with the regular flowers produced earlier in the season. However, fruit
capsules developed from cleistogamous flowers typically produce lots of perfectly fertile seeds.
Wisconsin Native Violet Catalog
Arrow-Leaved Violet
Height: 4-8 inches
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Full Sun, Part Sun
Zones: 3-7
Soil: Loam, Sand, Clay, Rocky
Moisture: Dry, Medium, Moist
Color: Blue, Purple
Birdfoot Violet
Height: 3-6 inches
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Full Sun
Zones: 4-8
Soil : Sand, Rocky
Moisture: Dry, Medium
Color: Purple, Violet
Canada Violet
Height: 1-3 feet
Bloom Time: Late Spring/Summer
Sun: Shade
Zones: 3-8
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Moist
Color: Orange, White
Common Blue Violet
Height: 6-12 inches
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Full Sun, Part Sun
Zones: 4-7
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Moist
Color: White, Blue, Pink, Purple
Downy Yellow Violet
Height: 6-12 inches
Bloom Time: Late Spring/Summer
Sun: Part Sun, Part Shade
Zones: 4-7
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Dry
Color: Orange, Yellow
Early Blue Violet
Height: 6-12 inches
Bloom Time: Late Spring/Summer
Sun: Part Shade
Zones: 4-10
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Moist
Color: Purple
Field Pansy
Height: 3-6 inches
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Full Sun
Zones: 5-10
Soil: Loam, Sand
Moisture: Moist
Color: Yellow, Violet
Halberdleaf Yellow Violet
Height: 6-12 Inches
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Full Sun
Zones: 5-7
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Dry
Color: White, Yellow
Labrador Violet
Height: 3-6 inches
Bloom Time: Summer
Sun: Full Sun, Part Sun
Zones: 3-10
Soil: Loam, Sand
Moisture: Dry, Medium
Color: Blue, Purple, Lavender
Lanceleaf Violet
Height: 3-6 inches
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Part Shade, Shade
Zones: 3-10
Soil: Loam, Clay
Moisture: Moist, Wet
Color: White
Longspur Violet
Height: 1-3 feet
Bloom Time: Late Spring/Summer
Sun: Shade
Zones: 4-8
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Moist
Color: Purple
Marsh Blue Violet
Height: 6-12 inches
Bloom Time: Late Spring/Sunner
Sun: Sun, Part Sun, Part Shade, Shade
Zones: 4-8
Soil: Clay, Loam, Sand
Moisture: Moist, Wet
Color: Blue, Violet
Sweet White Violet
Height: 3-6 inches
Bloom Time: Late Spring/Summer
Sun: Part Shade
Zones: 2-8
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Medium, Moist, Wet
Color: White
Three-Part Violet
Height: 12-18 inches
Bloom Time: Spring
Sun: Part Shade, Shade
Zones: 5-7
Soil: Loam
Moisture: Moist, Wet
Color: Yellow
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