Don Croner’s Wanders on the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail | Flora | Long-spurred Violet

The Long-spurred Violet (Viola rostrata) deserves to be singled out mainly because of the conspicuously long spur of the flower, which differentiates it from other Violets. The species name rostrata means “beaked” in Latin and refers to this spur, which can reach up to ¾ inch in length. The Long-spurred Violet is often found among stands of Sugar Maple and Hemlock with Ramps and Trilliums growing nearby. The flowers, which appear from late April through June and occasionally into July, are up to about ⅞ inch in width and pale violet with a white throat. Dark nectar lines run together into a purple-black “eyespot”. There is no documented Native American use specific to Viola rostrata, although nineteenth-century botanic physicians, who called it Canker Violet, occasionally employed it for sore throat. It is generally lumped together with other Violets and was probably used by Native Americans for medicine and food in much the same way as the Blue Violet (Viola sororia).

Note the long spurs.

Long-spurred Violet

Long-spurred Violet. Note the dark “landing strips” intended to direct insects to the center of the flower.