SPECIES:  Viola renifolia

• Introductory
• Distribution and Occurrence
• Management Considerations
• Botanical and Ecological Characteristics
• Fire Ecology
• Fire Effects
• References

Introductory
SPECIES: Viola renifolia



AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Viola renifolia. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). 
Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [].




ABBREVIATION : 
VIOREN

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   VIRE2


COMMON NAMES : 
   kidney-leaved violet
   kidney leaf violet
   kidney-leaved white violet


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of kidney-leaved violet is Viola
renifolia Gray.  V. renifolia is known to hybridize with V. blanda
Willd., a close relative [19].


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Global Rank:  G5 (Demonstrably secure globally) [16].
USFS Region 1 Status: MT - Sensitive [17].
MT State Rank:  S1 (Critically imperiled in Montana because of extreme
                    rarity--5 or fewer occurrences) [16].
SD State Status:  U (Status Undetermined--possibly rare, declining, or
                     extirpated in state; more information needed on
                     present abundance and threats to determine status) [20].
WA State status:  SH (Possibly extirpated; historically known with the
                     expectation that it may be rediscovered) [21].

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Viola renifolia



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Kidney-leaved violet is distributed from Newfoundland west to British
Columbia and south to New York, Colorado, and Washington [8].

Occurrence in Glacier National Park:  Belton and Two Medicine Lake [12].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine


STATES : 
     AK  CO  MI  MN  MT  OH  PA  WA  WY  AB
     BC  MB  NB  NF  NS  NT  ON  PQ  SK  YT



BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K096  Northeastern spruce - fir forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    12  Black spruce
   201  White spruce
   204  Black spruce
   211  White fir


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Kidney-leaved violet occurs in the herb layer of (usually less 1 percent
of the canopy cover) in black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (P.
glauca), mixedwood, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), and balsam
poplar (P. balsamifera) vegetation types.

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Viola renifolia





IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
NO-ENTRY


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
In Montana, kidney-leaved violet is threatened by timber harvesting in
mesic forests.  Within Glacier National Park, populations should be
located and threats assessed [12,16].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Viola renifolia



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Kidney-leaved violet is a native perennial that grows 2 to 4 inches
(5-10 cm) tall.  It has reniform, or kidney-shaped, leaves that are 1 to
2.5 inches (3-6 cm) long.  It does not have stolons, as some similar
species do.  The flowers are zygomorhpic and cleistogamous.  The 10- to
15-mm-long corolla has white petals; the lower three are purple-penciled.
The capsule is purplish; seeds are brown and 1 to 5 mm long [1,7,8].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Chamaephyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Kidney-leaved violet reproduces by both sexual and vegetative means [3].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Kidney-leaved violet grows from inland forests to subalpine slopes.  It
occurs on cool or damp sites in moist coniferous forests at low to
middle elevations [7,8,12].  It is usually found in cedar swamps, woods,
and thickets of other conifers in the Lake States [18] and in rich, open
woods in New England [15].  Seeds have been found in organic but not
mineral soils [5].

Kidney-leaved violet was more common in mesotrophic white spruce (Picea
glauca) forests than in submesotrophic lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)
forests [11].  Across Canada, it had 47 percent presence in white spruce
forests and 35 percent presence in black spruce (Picea mariana) [10].
In a white spruce forest in Alberta, kidney-leaved violet represented
0.2 to 0.5 percent of the plant cover [11].

Kidney-leaved violet occurs at elevations ranging from 3,000 to 5,000
feet (900-1,525 m) in Montana [17] and 6,500 to 10,500 feet (2,095-3,199
m) in Colorado [3,7].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
In Alberta, kidney-leaved violet seeds were found in the soil seed bank
only where mature plants were already present.  The species was present
in stands 80 to 145 years old [5].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Kidney-leaved violet floweres in June and July in Montana [12,17].  In
New England, it flowers during the last week of May [15].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Viola renifolia



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
NO-ENTRY

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Viola renifolia



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
NO-ENTRY


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Viola renifolia



REFERENCES : 

 .  Anderson, J. P. 1959. Flora of Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada.
       Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press. 543 p.  [9928]

 .  Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
       reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
       associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
       U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. 
       [434]

 .  Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
       network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
       Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
       Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p.  [806]

 .  Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
       Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p.  [905]

 .  Fyles, James W. 1989. Seed bank populations in upland coniferous forests
       in central Alberta. Canadian Journal of Botany. 67: 274-278.  [6388]

 .  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

 .  Harrington, H. D. 1964. Manual of the plants of Colorado. 2d ed.
       Chicago: The Swallow Press Inc. 666 p.  [6851]

 .  Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1961. Vascular plants of the
       Pacific Northwest. Part 3: Saxifragaceae to Ericaceae. Seattle, WA:
       University of Washington Press. 614 p.  [1167]

 .  Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
       of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
       American Geographical Society. 77 p.  [1384]

.  La Roi, George H. 1967. Ecological studies in the boreal spruce-fir
       forests of the North American taiga. I. Analysis of the vascular flora.
       Ecological Monographs. 37(3): 229-253.  [8864]

.  La Roi, George H.; Strong, Wayne L.; Pluth, Donald J. 1988. Understory
       plant community classifications as predictors of forest site quality for
       lodgepole pine and white spruce in west-central Alberta. Canadian
       Journal of Forest Research. 18: 875-887.  [5414]

.  Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park,
       Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27
       p.  [12049]

.  Lesica, P.; Moore, G.; Peterson, K. M.; Rumely, J. H. (Montana Rare
       Plant Project). 1984. Vascular plants of limited distribution in
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       Proceedings, Volume 43. Bozman, MT: Montana State University, Montana
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.  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
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.  Voss, Edward G. 1972. Michigan flora. Part I. Gymnosperms and monocots.
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       University of Michigan Herbarium. 488 p.  [11471]

.  Shelly, J. Stephen, compiler. 1990. Plant species of special concern.
       Helena, MT: Montana Natural Heritage Program. 20 p.  [12960]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region. 1988.
       Sensitive plant field guide [Montana]. Missoula, MT.  [12279]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
       National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
       SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p.  [11573]

.  Voss, Edward G. 1985. Michigan flora. Part II. Dicots
       (Saururaceae--Cornaceae). Bull. 59. Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook
       Institute of Science; Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Herbarium.
       724 p.  [11472]

.  Houtcooper, Wayne C.; Ode, David J.; Pearson, John A.; Vandel, George
       M., III. 1985. Rare animals and plants of South Dakota. Prairie
       Naturalist. 17(3): 143-165.  [1198]

.  Washington Natural Heritage Program, compiler. 1994. Endangered,
       threatened, and sensitive vascular plants of Washington. Olympia, WA:
       Department of Natural Resources. 52 p.  [25413]