Plants of
South Australia
Viola cleistogamoides
Violaceae
Hidden Violet,
Shy Violet
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 2

Prior names

Viola hederacea ssp. cleistogamoides

Common names

Hidden Violet

Shy Violet

Etymology

Viola from Latin for violet, referring to the violet genus. Cleistogamoides means having a cleistogamous (from the Greek Greek 'kleistos' meaning closed) mode of pollination; having small, unopened, self-pollinating flowers, usually in addition to the showier flowers.

Distribution and status

Found in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower South-east in South Australia, ground on sand or skeletal soils in west heathland and woodland. Also found in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Rare in South Australia. Rare in New South Wales. 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 stoloniferous herb, glabrous or weakly pubescent withshort erect stems. Leaves tufted, glabrous or weakly pubescent, leaf-blade broadly ovate to ovate-rhomboid, margins with a few coarse teeth, tapering to the petiole. Flowers cream, often with a purplish tinge towards the centre on a short stalk. Flowering between October and January. Fruits are brown ovoid capsule to 4 mm long. Seeds are black ovoid seed to 2 mm long and 1.3 mm wide. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and January. 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 one collection, the seed viability was average, at 55%. This species has physiological dormancy that need to be overcome for the seed to germinate.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA8,500 (5.1 g)503-Dec-2007RJB76060
Southern Lofty
19-Sep-200855%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.