Plants of
South Australia
Viola sieberiana
Violaceae
Sieber's Violet,
Tiny 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 painting: 1

Prior names

Viola hederacea ssp. seppeltiana

Erpetion spathulatum, nom.illeg.

Viola hederacea ssp. sieberiana

Viola hederacea var. sieberi

Viola sieberi

Common names

Sieber's Violet

Tiny Violet

Etymology

Viola from Latin for violet; referring to the violet genus. Sieberiana named after Franz Wilhelm Sieber (1789-1844), a Bohemian botanist and collector who traveled to Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and Australia.

Distribution and status

Found on Kangaroo Island, Mount Lofty Ranges and the lower South-east in South Australia, growing in moist and shady areas. Also found in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. However, Victorian plants previously assigned to Viola sieberiana are now referable to V. hederacea subsp. seppeltiana, V. fuscoviolacea or V. cleistogamoides. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Murray, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Perennial stoloniferous herb, glabrous or sparsely pubescent with short erect stems short. Leaves tufted, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, leaf-blade broadly ovate to ovate-rhomboid, margins with a few coarse teeth, tapering into the petiole. Flowers pale to dark blue-violet with petals twice the length of the sepals. Flowering between August and December. Fruits are ovoid capsule to 5 mm long. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect capsules that are maturing, drying and turning pale brown with dark 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. 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
 
MSB

2,000 (1.84 g)
501-Nov-2007RJB74934
Murray
80%
 
MSB

1,600 (1 g)
504-Dec-2007TST251
Southern Lofty
90%
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.