Thierry,

...Don't see that one very often - nice find :)

I, also, cannot find any photos of it. But one of its synonyms is V. gmeliniana var. glabra. So, it should look something like V. gmeliniana - see the image at Oleg Korsun's 'Magnificent Transbaikalia' project.

Oleg has done a very good web site here - in Russian and English, covering over a thousand species of plants and animals. It includes 7 violets, all with photos - see
http://www.nature.chita.ru/Plants/Flowers/Viol/index.htm

I have some confusion over where Royle published the name: either:
- Bull. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg 26:427. 1880
or
- 'Illustrations of the Botany ... of the Himalayan Mountains', 1834

But in any case, that mention of the Himalaya gives a clue about how to grow it. It occurs not only in the Pakistani Himalaya, but across to the other end of the Himalaya - in Yunnan in China, where I have a record of it being collected at 2,820m altitude - so it should be hardy!

It is also like V. perpusilla (which has short hairs on the crinkle-edged leaves; V. kunawarensis has hairless leaves with almost uncrinkled edges). But there is even less information on that species! The commonest violet most similar to V. kunawarensis, is V. betonicifolia.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Viola gmeliniana at Oleg Korsun's Magnificent Transbaikalia project

Update: publication must have been the 1834 one, since Royle died in 1858. The 1880 one, from http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxon.pl?430196, is probably an error.

Here is a link that might be useful: John Forbes Royle in HUH index of botanists

Thanks Mike :-)
Your help is really precious: I wish I could have the same knowledge as you :-) I guess several lives will be needed just to be able to hold a candle to you lol
Anyway...merci beaucoup :-)

Take care.
Thierry.

Thierry,

:)

Where did you get your plant from?
Whatever the answer, where did they get it from?
It would be interesting to know if it came from a seed-collecting expedition. If so, it would probably be possible to find out more. For instance, the habitat where it was collected, including soil type and altitude; and who identified it; and if they collected any other species of Viola...

Maybe one day you will be able to post a photo of your plant in flower; I would look forward to that.

Cheers,
Mike

Well, in fact strange story as I love them to happen :-)

I spend lot of time searching things on Ebay, for fun -what else is to be done with such a gross weather ?
Once upon a time ;-) I discover a guy selling a bunch of 12 violas called "violettes de collection": Viola pedata, Viola jordani, Viola mandshurica, Viola canadensis, Viola rupestris "rose", Viola betonicifolia, Viola verecunda, Viola sororia "freeckles", Viola palmata, Viola langsdorfii sachalinensis, Viola kunawurensis, Viola howelli.
I was not interesting in some of them (I could turn a meadow into a field of Freckles just with the seeds of one of mine and Mandshurica su--s) but some others had really taken my fancy. So I placed bid and won :-) Just can't imagine something else happened anyway ;-) I HAD to get them lol.

You know what ? The guy is a natha's former friend she had loosen touch with. Isn't the world very very small ?! They knew each other at the time when natha was much in cultivars (she's still) however the man was much in wild violets.
Maybe Natha wants to go on the story ??
I'll try to get informations...

Don't worry, I'll have photos to post: the man gave me, for present, 3 other violets with the ones I bought. One is called "viola odorata ?" such a terrific name !!, another one is "violette panachée" which I identified as viola riviniana variegated and the last one is viola hirtipes.

I guess I'm a happy boy now :-) Hope I'll have seeds to share :-) Some of those violas are rare, they must be shared so as to be protected in a way.

To be followed ;-)
Hasta la vista.
Thierry.

That's great!
Nice story :)

Sharing seeds/plants is definitely a good idea; I have been on both ends of losses/replacements several times.

Mike

very nice find thierry!
thanks for the story and to mike for all the background, too. the pic of the related violet resembles the alpine form of the australian betonicifolia. quite full-petalled, 'chubby' flowers. i will go up to the alpine region this summer and make some new pics and collect some seed. i had seed of alpine betonicifolia at a violet conference a few years back. never heard if anyone germinated it. it was fresh, as the seed forms in february and the conference was in march! should have been good for european climates, too....
rob...

Are you talking about Viola betonicifolia ssp novoguinensis Rob?? Althought leaves are much more thin than V gmeliniana..So this means that I germinated at least them!! :-)) ..I grew it several years but I've lost it recently...I shared seeds....
I hope you'll find this naughty betonicifolia this time!! ;-)

Hello :-)

Gerk can't post a pic, so I do it for him :-)
Here's his text:
"Attached you will find a foto which I received from Dr. Zschummel who found the plant in China (SE Tibet).
A synonym of Viola kunawurensis is V. tianschanica. Dr. Zschummel has a small plant of this but he was not sure whether it will survive."

Enjoy :-)

to natha...

no, ssp novoguinensis is the sub-tropical/tropical form with the narrow leaves you mention. the seed i refer to was 'lost plain' betonicifolia which is southern (victorian) and (sub)alpine. the site was/is near mt wellington north of bairnsdale east of melbourne (for those who might like to see it on a map!)

rob...

many thnx for useful piccy Gerd/Thierry