Canada Violet, Viola canadensis L., Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, Canadian White Violet

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Canada Violet	Viola canadensis L.	Violet (Violaceae)	Woodland	Spring to Early Summer
Other names and notes	(Canadian White Violet). The plant has large heart shaped basal leaves on long stalks, with smaller stem leaves and a white flower with a yellowish center and a long blooming period, making it likely that you will see this flower on a spring visit. It is 8 to 16" tall. The white petals can have a purplish tinge on the back side. Flower stalks spring from the leaf stalk not from the base as this violet has an above ground stem. Flowers are solitary, fragrant, 5-parted and average 1-1/4" wide. There is a large grouping of them in the back of the Garden near where the path branches off to the Upland Garden and along the east woodland path, both areas where there is a tree canopy overhead. Another variety, Viola rugulosa, (Tall white Violet) has a similar looking flower. The fruit is an elliptic to oval capsule. The plant requires moderate moisture levels and summer shade.



Left above: The distinctive large leaves with heart-shaped base. Below left: The flower stem emerges from the upper leaf axil.	Right above: Note the upper stem leaves from which springs the flower stem; the flower with the distinctive yellow base to the petals. Below right: The distinctive purple tinge on the back of the petals.

	Left: The ovoid shape fruit capsule.

Notes: Eloise Butler's records show that she introduced this plant to the Garden when she obtained plants of this species on May 10, 1908 from Mound, MN. and again on May 6, 1913 from the Fort Snelling area (near Minneapolis). It was listed on Martha Crone's 1951 census of plants in the Garden and is quite common today in the Garden. Common in the Minnesota woods and native to most counties except a few in the south-central part of the state and a few north central. As the name implies, this violet is found throughout Canada and then most of the U.S. except a few of the drier central states, and Florida, Nevada and California. Eloise Butler wrote extensively about violets - Read her notes.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

102012