Description: This introduced wildflower is a winter
or spring annual about 6" tall, sometimes branching near the base of the plant;
it is more or less erect. The small basal leaves have orbicular blades with
long slender petioles; these are followed by alternate leaves along the stems.
The stems are light green to purplish green and hairless. The alternate leaves
are obovate, oblanceolate, or linear-oblanceolate, becoming more narrow as they
ascend the stems. They are up to 2" long, light to medium green, hairless, and
smooth to slightly crenate along their margins. Leafy stipules up to 1" long
occur along the stems near the bases of the leaves. These stipules have deep
narrow lobes that are smooth or ciliate along their margins; they are light to
medium green like the leaves. Occasionally, individual flowers are produced
from axils of the upper leaves on long naked stalks. Each of these stalks is
light green to dark purple and hairless, curving downward at the apex where the
flower occurs. Each flower is about ½" across, consisting of 5 petals
and 5 sepals. The petals are pale to medium blue-violet with dark purple lines,
becoming white near the throat of the flower. However,
the lowermost petal
has a patch of yellow near its base. Also, the two lateral petals are bearded
with white hairs near the throat of the flower. The sepals are smaller in size
than the petals; they are light green to purplish green, lanceolate, and
hairless. The blooming period occurs from mid-spring to early summer and lasts
about 1½ months. Fertilized flowers produce seed capsules. The small
seeds are light brown and globoid; they are ejected mechanically from their
ripened capsules. The root system consists of a slender branching taproot.
Colonies of plants are occasionally formed.
Cultivation: The preference is full or partial sun,
moist to mesic conditions, and a light friable soil containing some sand.
However, this wildflower adapts to other kinds of soil as well.
Range & Habitat: The Field Pansy is occasional
in the southern half of Illinois and uncommon or absent in the northern half of
the state (see
Distribution
Map). It was introduced from Eurasia. Habitats include limestone glades,
moist sand prairies, fields, and waste places. Sandy areas with a history of
disturbance are preferred.
Faunal
Associations: The nectar and pollen of the flowers attract mostly
bees, although small butterflies and skippers may also visit the flowers. The
caterpillars of various Fritillary butterflies (Boloria spp.,
Speyeria spp., etc.) and moths feed on the foliage of Viola spp.
(Violets). The seeds are eaten in limited amounts by the Ruffed Grouse,
Bobwhite, Wild Turkey, Mourning Dove, and some songbirds. Violets are not a
preferred food source of mammalian herbivores, although rabbits and deer will
browse on the foliage occasionally.
Photographic Location: Edge of a sand prairie in
Kankakee County, Illinois.
Comments:
Among the different introduced Viola spp. (Violets), the Field Pansy is
the one that has become the most widely naturalized. Sometimes it is used as
one of the parents of the many Pansy cultivars that have been developed for the
mass market. The Field Pansy is rather similar to another introduced species,
Viola tricolor (Johnny Jump-Up). However, this latter species has larger
tricolored flowers about ½–1" across, and the terminal lobes of its
stipules are more likely to be crenate along their margins, rather than smooth.
Another introduced species, Viola arvensis (Wild Pansy), has
yellow-cream flowers and its sepals are at least as long as its petals. All of
these introduced species produce large stipules with deep narrow lobes along
their stems; this pansy-like characteristic distinguishes them from many of the
native Violets. A scientific synonym of the Field Pansy is Viola
rafinesquii.