Bird's-foot violet (Viola pedata) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 8
Biology
Bird’s-foot violet is a perennial herb that flowers from mid-May to mid-June and again from late September to mid-October. The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued insects; when the seeds are ripe they are forcefully projected up to one-half metre. The seeds are often gathered by ants; this reduces seed predation by other insects and thus aids reproduction. Unlike many other violets, Viola pedata does not produce cleistogamous flowers. Such flowers are self-fertilized and do not open. Nor does bird’s-foot violet produce stolons (shoots that enable a plant to spread by vegetative reproduction). This violet can only reproduce by seed production through cross-pollination (Kavanagh et al., 1990). Further details on the general biology of this species are given in Kavanagh et al. (1990).
The species is easily grown from seed, provided the seed is covered (requires darkness to germinate). It is a popular violet with gardeners for use in warm sunny rock gardens. Mature plants can be divided. Several cultivars are available including ‘Bicolor’. Canadian populations may have a high importance to horticulturalists as they are probably more cold tolerant than southern populations (D. Fraser, pers. comm.)
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