Coast Violet

(Viola brittoniana)

Coast Violet (Viola brittoniana Pollard)

Identification: Leaves basal and flowers on separate stems. Flowers reddish-violet, throat conspicuously white without contrasting yellow-orange stamens. Leaves usually heavily cut in a number of irregular segments, although a variety with a heavily dentate, heart-shaped leaf exits.

Distribution: Found along the Atlantic coast from New England to South Carolina.

Habitat: Coast habitats with sandy or boggy soils.

Similar Species: Birdfoot Violet is similar to Coast Violet. The stamens of Birdfoot Violet are yellow-orange and contrast with the white throat of the flower. The stamens of Coast Violet are not yellow-orange and do not contrast with the white throat. The leaf divisions are not as linear or regular in Coast Violet and the middle division is often broad and irregular. Coast Violet is limited to the eastern coastal regions, but Birdfoot Violet has a much wider range. The leaf divisions of Prairie Violet are narrower and more numerous and the tips of the divisions are usually bifid. Prairie Violet is a species of the prairies and does not occur along the coast.