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Viola ×bissellii
Viola ×bissellii House
Bissell's Hybrid Violet
Violaceae (Violet family)
Synonym(s): Viola ×conturbata
USDA Symbol: VIBI3
USDA Native Status: L48 (N)
Hybrid perennial. Stemless. Plant nearly glabrous. Peduncles longer than the leaves and flowers held above the foliage. Sepals lanceolate. Flower color various shades of blue. Capsules small and few-seeded. (Reslit: 2845.) "A sparsely pubescent, robust plant with sparsely ciliate sepals (at least on the auricles), slightly expanded petal hairs (i.e., intermediate between the two parents), variably prostrate to ascending cleistogamous peduncles, and a spurred petal that sometimes shows a few hairs. The corolla of this hybrid can be largely blue or is sometimes largely white with a blue ring around the white center." (Bibref: 1501).
Hybrid progeny of Viola cucullata and V. sororia. Published as an unnamed hybrid by Ezra Brainerd (Reslit: 2845) and subsequently as Viola ×conturbata by Homer D. House. (Bibref: 1795). "Viola ×bissellii is a fertile hybrid between V. sororia and V. cucullata. It is prolific and widespread, especially common in areas disturbed by humans. Specimens exhibit a wide range of intermediate character states, including degree and location of pubescence, length and shape of petal ("beard") hairs, number of cilia on the sepals, and height of peduncles, which may overtop leaves. Beard hairs are often from 0.5-0.9 mm in length and slightly expanded apically (i.e., intermediate between the corresponding traits of the parents)." (Webref: 33).
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Plant Characteristics
Duration: PerennialHabit: Herb
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 1 foot tall.
Fruit: Fruit a small, imperfect, few-seeded capsule. (Reslit: 2845).
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: White , Blue , VioletBloom Time: Apr , May , Jun
Bloom Notes: Flower color variable, but usually blue, white or violet with darker blue markings.
Distribution
USA: CT , ME , MN , NJ , NY , OH , PA , VA , VT , WINative Distribution: New England, New York and the Great Lakes region wherever the parent species, Viola cucullata and V. sororia occur in close proximity.
Native Habitat: Shady, moist, rich soil. (Reslit: 2845).
Bibliography
Bibref 1795 - Annotated list of the ferns and flowering plants of New York state (1924) House, Homer D.Bibref 1501 - New England Wild Flower Society's Flora Novae Angliae: A Manual for the Identification of Native and Naturalized Higher Vascular Plants of New England (2011) Haines, A.
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Web Reference
Webref 33 - Botphoto.com (2019) Arieh TalWebref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 6 - Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database] (2018) USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter
Webref 27 - USDA Plants Database (2018) USDA, NRCS.
Additional resources
USDA: Find Viola ×bissellii in USDA PlantsFNA: Find Viola ×bissellii in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Viola ×bissellii
Metadata
Record Modified: 2023-01-04Research By: Joseph A. Marcus