Viola floridana Brainerd var. floridana . Section: Nosphinium. Subsection: Borealiamericanae. Florida Blue Violet. Phen: Jan-Mar. Hab: Loamy soils in mesic forests, floodplain borders and hammocks. Dist: S. GA south to c. peninsular FL, west to s. AL.

Origin/Endemic status: Endemic

Taxonomy Comments: Russell (1965) mapped Viola floridana with a bimodal distribution, in the e. Gulf states and the w. Gulf region. However, he and others dismissed V. rosacea Brainerd (which differs in certain foliage and floral features), which may be more widespread westward than Brainerd’s few collections and may represent much of the “western” portion of the range reported for V. floridana. The morphological variability and geographic range of this collective taxon are presently under study, and preliminary field and herbarium studies indicate there may be two taxa lurking under Viola floridana sensu stricto. The “peninsular FL” variant has a consistently different floral morphology and is narrowly distributed in the central Peninsula, and probably deserves infraspecific status.

Synonymy: = Ballard () (in prep); < Viola floridana Brainerd – S13; < Viola sororia Willd. – Fl2, FNA6, K3, K4

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Great Plains: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Midwest: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Northcentral & Northeast: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)

Heliophily: 2