Keys from Flora of Bhutan (with habitat and flowering): The following doubtful species have also been recorded from E Himalaya: V. cameleo Boissieu, V. placida Becker, V. sikkimensis Becker and V. thomsonii Oudemans. These require further study and are not treated here. 1. Leaves attenuate or rounded and scarcely cordate at base ........ 2 + Leaves distinctly cordate at base (bases sometimes scarcely cordate in V. beronicifolia but then leaves twice as long as broad) ............ 3 2. Annual or slender perennial, sometimes shortly stoloniferous; leaves 1 - 2cm broad, pubescent ....... l. V. diffusa (Warm broad-leaved forest slopes, 915 - 2100m. February - April.) + Perennial with branching rootstock, not stoloniferous; leaves 4 - 8mm broad. .... 2. V. kunawarensis (Alpine slopes, 4880 - 5200m. June - July) 3. Petals predominantly yellow ........... 4 + Petals predominantly white, bluish or mauve ........ 5 4. Petals with brownish purple reticulation outside; spur saccate, c 2mm, rounded 3. V. biflora (In damp, shaded Fir forest margins, 2285 — 3350m. June — September) + Petals pure yellow outside; spur slender, acute, 4 - 5mm.....4.V. wallichiana (Forest margins, 2740 — 3350m. June — July) 5. Rootstock with an ovoid scaly bulb ......... 5. V. bulbosa (Damp slopes amongst scrub, 2400 — 3900m. April — May) + Rootstock without a bulb .......................... 6 6. Leaves narrowly oblong-ovate, usually more than twice as long as broad. lamina distinctly decurrent on petiole ......... 6. V. betonicifolia (River banks and damp ground, 2370 — 2500m. May - June) + Leaves broadly ovate or suborbicular, as long as broad or sometimes l.5(—2) times as long, lamina not or scarcely decurrent on petiole .......... 7 7. Plants not stoloniferous ...........8 + Plants stoloniferous ........9 8. Leaves 1 -5 x0.5-3.5cm, obtuse or acute, pubescent (hairs c0.9mm); lateral petals pubescent within ......... 7. V. bhutanica (Damp wooded banks, 2450 — 3500m. April —June) + Leaves 2-9x2-7cm, abruptly acuminate, sparsely pubescent (hairs c0.5mm); lateral petals glabrous within ............ 8. V. paravaginata (Amongst bamboo, 3300 — 3350m. May) 9. Leaves broadly ovate or suborbicular,obtuse or subacute, margins broadly and shallowly crenate, usually completely glabrous; sepal appendages rounded ….. 9. V. hookeri (Moist ground in forest shade. 2285 — 3000m. April — June) + Leaves ovate, acute or acuminate, margins crenate-serrate, usually at least sparsely pubescent; sepal appendages acute ........ 10 10. Petioles +/- densely retrorse-pubescent; sepal appendages c l mm …….. 10. V. pilosa (Moist ground around forests and margins of cultivation, 1400 — 3500m. February — May) + Petioles glabrous or sparsely pubescent; sepal appendages c 3mm .....… 11. V. hamiltoniana (Banks in warm broad-leaved forests, 1170—2540m. February—May) Viola wallichiana Ging. (C-Nepal to Bhutan, India (West Bengal), Sikkim, Tibet as per Catalogue of Life) (The long narrow spur distinguishes it from Viola biflora) In Flora of
India Vol-2 by BSI the account of Violaceae is written by S.P.Banerjee and B.B.Pramanik.
In this account authors have given generic description, key to species, keys to
sub species/ varieties/ forma (as the case may be), description of species,
flowering and fruiting time, and distribution in India. This document (Banerjee
and Pramanik, 1993) have mentioned presence of following 34 wild species in
India- 1- Viola betonicifolia (subsp. betonicifolia; subsp. jaunsarensis, line diagram given), 2- V.biflora, 3- V.bulbosa subsp. tuberifera, 4- V.cameleo, 5- V.canescens,
6- V.cinerea var. stocksii, 7- V.diffusa, 8- V.fedtschenkoana
(var. fedtschenkoana, var. muzaffarabadensis), 9- V.glaucescens, 10- V.hamiltoniana, 11- V.hediniana,
12- V.hookeri, 13- V.hossei, 14- V.inconspicua, 15- V.indica
(forma barbata, forma indica), 16- V.jangiensis, 17- V.jordanii
var. falconeri, 18- V.kunawarensis, 19- V.macroceros, 20- V.moupinensis,
21- V.odorata, 22- V.paravaginata, 23- V.philippica, 24- V.pilosa,
25- V.placida, 26- V.pogonantha, 27- V.reichenbachiana, 28- V.rupestris
(var. himalayensis, var. rupestris), 29- V.sikkimensis (line diagram given), 30- V.suavis, 31- V.sylvatica,
32- V.thomsonii, 33- V.wallichiana, 34- V.yunnanensis Viola tricolor is also added in this list by the authors (Banerjee
and Pramanik,1993) with the remark that it is cultivated and rarely occur as escape
from cultivation.
Almost similar
information is also available in the FASCICLE OF FLORA OF INDIA, FASCICLE-12
VIOLACEAE written by S.P.Banerjee and B.B.Pramanik and published by Botanical
Survey of India, Howrah in 1983.
No Viola seems threatened in India as no
species is mentioned in Red Data Book of Indian Plants by Nayar and Sastry
(1987-90).
Species with description &
pictures in Flowers of India as on 17.2.14:
Floriculture in India By Gurcharan Singh Randhawa, Amitabha Mukhopadhyay (1986)- Brief details- 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants edited by Kerry Scott Walter, Harriet J. Gillett- Viola himalayensis W.Becker- I- J & K Viola kunawarensis- I- NW Himalayas Viola : 3 posts by 2 authors. I have updated eFI (efloraofindia) page on Viola Attempts have been made to incorporate most of the species available in India & nearby areas with details & keys directly or through links as far as possible. It’s quite possible that there may be some discrepancy in the accepted names & synonyms taken from other links. Species discussed so far in efloraofindia are given at the bottom of the page in the form of links against Subpagses. On clicking them one can see all the details. If someone can provide complete list of Indian species with source references it will be wonderful. Any comments/ corrections are welcome I have added the complete list of Viola species occurring in India, with reference. Viola (Violaceae) page with images of species in efloraofindia : 2 posts by 1 author. Pl. go through Viola (Violaceae) page with images of species in efloraofindia. I request you to pl. go through & point out mistakes, if any. I hope this will aid in identifications in future. If anybody can send images of other species of this genera (for incorporation in the website), if any, or can identify unidentified images, it will be really nice. Some photos under Viola canescens do not show up. The links are broken perhaps. I was hoping for a discussion on this species too as there is some possibility that this might be V. pilosa (at least if we follow the Flora of China). If we rely entirely on Flora of Pakistan, then our id seems to be correct. I have additional images which I can send for more scrutiny. Thanks, ..., Some photos may not be able to load up sometimes. You are most welcome to pl. post further photos for further scrutiny. |