Viola affinis
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Photo courtesy Renee Brecht |
Britton & Brown |
| Botanical name: | Viola affinis |
| Common name: | sand violet |
| Group: | dicot |
| Family: | Violaceae |
| Growth type: | forb/herb |
| Duration: | annual; perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Plant height: | 6 - 10" |
| Foliage: | glossy heart-shaped leaves, coarsely toothed, with long stems, are narrower in the spring, larger in summer |
| Flower: | violet, with white throat, and the three lower petals are somewhat hairy |
| Flowering time: | April through late May; cleistogamous fruit mid June to mid July |
| Habitat: | moist to wet shaded ground of watersides, deciduous woods and edges, boggy meadows |
| Range in New Jersey: | through the Piedmont and Inner Coastal Plain |
| Heritage ranking, if any: | n/a |
| Distribution: |  |
| Misc. | Per Hough, species is often misidentified. Similar to Viola sororia (common blue violet), but the leaves are more triangular and elongated with an acute apex. The lower petal is always bearded in sand violet but rarely in V. sororia |