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Viola walteri

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Prostrate Blue Violet

G5Secure Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.150584
Element CodePDVIO042K0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderViolales
FamilyViolaceae
GenusViola
Synonyms
Viola walteri var. walteri
Other Common Names
prostrate blue violet (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
This narrow treatment of Viola walteri excludes Viola appalachiensis as a distinct species (sensu Kartesz 1994 and 1999, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2022). FNA (vol. 6, 2015) includes Viola appalachiensis (= V. walteri var. appalachiensis) as a variety of V. walteri. Therefore, according to FNA, V. walteri here is equivalent to FNA's V. walteri var. walteri.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2022-11-02
Change Date2022-11-02
Edition Date2022-11-02
Edition AuthorsEberly (2022), rev. SE RSGCN Workshop (2022)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Viola walteri is a perennial herb that is wide ranging in the eastern United States, occurring from Pennsylvania and West Virginia south to Florida and west to Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Texas. It is common throughout the southeastern United States, especially on the coastal plain.
Range Extent Comments
Viola walteri is a wide ranging species of the eastern United States occurring from southcentral Pennsylvania and northeastern West Virginia south to Florida and west to Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Texas (Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2022).
Occurrences Comments
This species is common in the southern coastal plain, but uncommon to rare in the Appalachians and westward (Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2022). It is uncommon in Red-cedar - Blue Ash Limestone Woodlands of the Central Basin of Tennessee (T. Crabtree, pers. comm., 2022). Based on NatureServe Network occurrence data, herbarium records, photo-based observations, and anecdotal evidence, there are likely over 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2022, iNaturalist 2022, NatureServe 2022, SEINet 2022).
Threat Impact Comments
Somewhat threatened by land-use conversion, habitat fragmentation, and competition from non-natives in degraded forest habitats (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002). In West Virginia, this species is threatened and has likely declined due agricultural activities (J. Burkhart, pers. comm., 2022).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species typically occurs on mafic or calcareous soils of thin woods, Red-cedar - Blue Ash Limestone Woodlands, blackland prairies, nutrient-rich woodlands and forests, dolomite bluffs and ledges. Towards the south it is found on acidic sandy or rocky substrates in dry to mesic forests (SE RSGCN Workshop 2022, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2022).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodWoodland - MixedGrassland/herbaceous
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
KentuckyS2Yes
AlabamaSNRYes
VirginiaS2Yes
PennsylvaniaS1Yes
FloridaS4Yes
TexasSNRYes
North CarolinaS1Yes
ArkansasS1Yes
OhioS2Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
MississippiS4Yes
LouisianaSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
West VirginiaS1Yes
South CarolinaS4Yes
Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (3)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear MountainOuachita National Forest1,910
Louisiana (1)
AreaForestAcres
Saline Bayou W & S River CorridorKisatchie National Forest5,355
West Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
North Mountain HopevilleMonongahela National Forest6,525
References (13)
  1. Bachman, S., J. Moat, A.W. Hill, J. de la Torre, and B. Scott. Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT: geospatial conservation assessment tool. In: Smith, V., and L. Penev (Eds). 2011. e-Infrastructures for data publishing in biodiversity science. ZooKeys 150:117-126. Version BETA. Accessed online: http://geocat.kew.org/editor
  2. Burkhart, John. Personal Communication. Natural Heritage Program Botanist. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.
  3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2015. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 6. Magnoliophyta: Cucurbitaceae to Droserceae. Oxford University Press, New York. 496 pp + xxiv.
  4. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2022. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2022).
  5. iNaturalist. 2022. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2022).
  6. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  7. Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
  8. NatureServe. 2022. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  9. Southeastern Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need Workshop (SE RSGCN Workshop). 2022. Jon Ambrose, Keith Bradley, Malissa Briggler, John Burkhart, Emily Coffey, Todd Crabtree, Amanda Eberly, Margie Dent, Chris Doffitt, Bruce Hoagland, Amy Jenkins, Wesley Knapp, Stephanie Koontz, Lisa Kruse, David Lincicome, Gemma Milly, Sarah Norris, Carrie Radcliffe, Hanna Rosner-Katz, Al Schotz, Jason Singhurst, Diana Soteropoulos, Carlee Steppe, Samantha Tessel, John Townsend, Alan Weakley, Brenda Wichmann, and Theo Witsell. Status assessment workshop, Oct. 17-20, 2022, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA.
  10. Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project. 2002. A partnership between the U.S. Forest Service-Region 8, Natural Heritage Programs in the Southeast, NatureServe, and independent scientists to develop and review data on 1300+ regionally and locally rare species in the Southern Appalachian and Alabama region. Database (Access 97) provided to the U.S. Forest Service by NatureServe, Durham, North Carolina.
  11. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2022. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2022).
  12. Weakley, A. S. 2011. Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Working Draft of 15 May 2011. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Online. Available: http://herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm (Accessed 2012).
  13. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2022. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 24, 2022. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2022 pp.