Viola pedata Linnaeus ssp. pedata . Section: Nosphinium. Subsection: Pedatae. Common Bird's-foot Violet. Phen: Chasmogamous flower Mar-Jul (Sep-Nov); chasmogamous fruit May-Jul. Hab: Dry rocky or sandy forests, woodlands, glades, and roadbanks. Dist: NH, NY, MI, WI, MN, and ND south to s. GA, s. AL, s. MS, s. LA, and e. TX.

ID notes: Viola pedata (including its varieties) is unique in its short erect barrel-like rhizome, long-adnate stipules, blue corolla (occasionally with upper petals purple-black) with all petals glabrous within, and a short slender cylindrical spur. The leaf blades of V. pedata var. pedata are superficially similar to those of V. pedatifida, with which it is commonly confused, but it differs most obviously in the undivided terminal primary division of the leaf blade, and by its glabrous petals (and the bicolorous corolla pattern). The other infraspecific taxa have more conspicuously unusual leaf blade division patterns and are even more divergent from other species in our region.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = Ballard, Kartesz, & Nishino (2023); = Viola pedata L. – C, Pa, W, Ballard () (in prep); = Viola pedata L. var. pedata – FNA6, K4, Va, McKinney & Russell (2002); < Viola pedata L. – Ar, GrPl, Il, K1, K3, NE, RAB, S, Tn, Tx, Haines (2001); > Viola pedata L. var. lineariloba DC. – F, G, S13, Tat, WV; > Viola pedata L. var. pedata – F, G, S13, Tat, WV

Links to other floras: = Viola pedata var. pedata - FNA6

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Great Plains: UPL (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Midwest: UPL (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Northcentral & Northeast: UPL (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)