Viola lanceolata

This record is for a broad treatment of Viola lanceolata, including subspecies lanceolata, occidentalis, and vittata as recognized in Kartesz (1994, 1999). Little and McKinney in FNA (2015, vol. 6) exclude V. lanceolata ssp. occidentalis as a subspecies of V. primulifolia and do not recognize ssp. vittata as distinct from typical V. lanceolata. Weakley et al. (2025) recognize V. lanceolata more narrowly, excluding V. lanceolata ssp. vittata as a distinct species.

This taxon is a perennial herb in a variety of wetland habitats and widely distributed in widely distributed in eastern North America from Newfoundland, Canada to eastern Minnesota, United States and south to South Carolina and eastern northeastern Texas, slightly disjunct in northeastern Nebraska and southeastern Kansas; it is introduced into the Pacific Northwest of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, though a rare subspecies occurs in southern Oregon and northern California. Threats include lack of fire leading to succession, changes to water levels, recreation, development, invasive species, conversion to pasture and agriculture, rights-of-way maintenance, and likely other threats in some places. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, this taxon is considered secure.

This taxon is widely distributed in eastern North America from Newfoundland, Canada to eastern Minnesota, United States and south to South Carolina and eastern northeastern Texas, slightly disjunct in northeastern Nebraska and southeastern Kansas; it is introduced into the Pacific Northwest of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, though a rare subspecies occurs in southern Oregon and northern California (FNA 2015). Native range extent was estimated to be approximately 8.5 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024). See individual entries for distribution details about the varieties.

By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are over 1,500 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).

Although threats are not widely documented, this taxon is threatened by lack of fire leading to succession, changes to water levels, recreation, development, invasive species, conversion to pasture and agriculture, rights-of-way maintenance, and other threats in some places (NatureServe 2024). However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the taxon's broad range, large number of occurrences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.