Common names
Showy Violet
Purple Violet
Etymology
Viola from Latin for violet, referring to the violet genus. Betonicifolia means having foliage like the plant betony (Stachys officinalis).
Distribution and status
Found in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower South-east in South Australia, growing in damp grassy woodland. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Very rare in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Southern Lofty, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Perennial herb, stolons absent. Leaves in basal rosette, leaf bladelanceolate, obovate or oblong to 70 mm long and 25 mm wide, usually glabrous, base truncate, margin with shoolw serration. Flowers violet to almost white, golden at base on a long stalk. Flowering between September and January. This subspecies differ from the other subspecies found in South Australia by having a truncate leaf-base (hastate in Viola betonicifolia spp. novaguineenis). Fruits are brown ellipsoid capsule to 13 mm long, splitting into to 3. Seeds are dark brown ovoid seed to 2 mm long and 1.2 mm wide. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and February. Collect capsules that are maturing, drying and turning pale brown with brown seeds inside. Keep an eye on the capsules as they can ripen and split open quickly. Place the capsules in a tray and cover with paper to prevent seeds popping out and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the capsules gently with your hands to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From two collections, the seed viability were high, at 100%. This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate
Location | No. of seeds (weight grams) | Number of plants | Date collected | Collection number Collection location | Date stored | % Viability | Storage temperature |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BGA | 360 (0.5 g) | 30 | 4-Dec-2007 | TST247 Southern Lofty | 19-Sep-2008 | 100% | |
BGA | 1,600 (2.01 g) | 1-Sep-2010 | PJA190 Southern Lofty | 1-Jan-2012 | 100% | -18°C | |
BGA | 1,300 (2.33 g) | 10-Nov-2011 | PJA190 Southern Lofty | 1-Jan-2012 | -18°C |