I plainly have no idea, but...

It looks like a miniature version of what I'd expect a cross between (perhaps a dark version of) V. tricolor and V. canadense to look like. Leaves look a little too blunt and fleshy to be elatior, from the pictures I've seen; and those little stipules are so much like tricolor. Yet the blossom has some more violet-ish shape to it, more akin to canadense, which also has purplish color to the backs of its upper petals. Also, the seed pods look similar to your photograph. Then again, canadense is a rather big thing, way bigger than four inches. And that's probably an unlikely hybrid. It could be something bizarre from Asia or Polynesia. Like I said, I have no real idea :) But it's so much fun to speculate when one knows little or nothing to begin with!

Rob!
What a find!

The leaves and stipules are a little like V. thibaudieri (Plate 15 of Hama & Ishi) (Japan), or its cross with V. acuminata (Plate 19 of Hama & Ishi).

But my best guess is V. diffusa (Plate 48 and Photo 17 of Hama & Ishi). Google finds only one photo of V. diffusa (see link). That is not great; nowhere near as good as H&I's one.
But the photo in Masashi's book is good, though I can't see seed pods as fat as yours, and the leaves on your plant are narrower.
So maybe it is a relative of V. diffusa, from China or Taiwan maybe...

Or - no - wait - I've got it - you crossed an Impatiens with a Viola, didn't you? I can definitely 'see' Busy Lizzie influence in your plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: V. diffusa photo

thanks for your suggestions...i agree, it's quite a find! the singular thing about it is the toothpick-thin single woody stem which supports a very leafy little shrub. the branches are disposed more or less horizontally, giving a soft, very leafy appearance to the plant. i have show what was once a horizontal stem layed flat on the scanner. it hasnt been missed by me that it has many seeds formed and forming. i have begun to save these so that they may be shared.....

i know of diffusa...it isnt woody enough. thibaudieri has much larger flowers and is taller and less woody. i'll try to get a long shot of the whole plant..(i dont have a digital camera but might get access to one....) keep trying everyone! i'd like to put a name on the little packets of seeds!

Hi!
Yes, this violet is really a good find.
I grow V.diffusa and as Rob says I don't think it is this species which has a very tender foliage...As Stefan suggests, I would also think for something tropical..My first idea was for something like Viola chamissoniana of Hawaï but it don't really look like the pictures I saw and it is probably impossible to find those treasures in foreign nurseries...
I have put Masashi on the track..let's see what he thinks about V.Thiebauderi!

Cheers
Natha
PS: I accept anonymous packets of seeds!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hawaïan violets...

Good morning dear alls,

I'm Denis and I live in France 20 kilometers next to Nathalie's home. I'm new on Violet forum but I read it for many month. I started a small violet collection, when I met Nathalie a few years ago.

I love these flowers and I've found many japanese websites about it on the net. I used Google.ne.jp and made a copy/paste with ÂXÂ~ÂÂ ( sumire )! Your computer may be accept japanese characters. If not it's easy to load.
With ÂcÂNÂVÂXÂ~ÂÂ (Tukushisumire) you can obtain this result :
Google/Viola diffusa.

The first adress is very intersting, don't forget to click on the thumbnail for more pictures.

Japanese websites on violets are very rich.

Rob, your new violet is realy very nice !

Best regards

Denis

After comparing the foto with a line-drawing of Viola arguta in "Smith & Fernández: Revista Violacearum Colombiae" Caldasia, Vol. VI 1954 I am almost sure that this extraordinary violet is very near to V. arguta or at least a member of the Sout American Section Leptidium.
Kind regards
Gerd

wow! the plot thickens! i wonder if this could be true? gerd, can you post a link to your information? thank you all for your time to consider the identity of this discovery. rob...

Sorry, as I don't know how to include a scanned drawing here, I'm not able to add a link. Section Leptidium includes 22 species distributed predominantly in the higher elevations of the South American Andes. Species typically have branched stems and are woody at the base. A few are upright but most are reclining to scandent and may root at the basal nodes. Viola arguta, V. scandens and some collections near V. humboldtii are species within this section with red respectively pink petals. Unfortunately my Spanish is insufficient, so I'm not able to translate the descriptions of the two plants first completely. Can't you get a reference concerning the origin of this violet? This would make the classification more easy.
Regards
Gerd

gerd, my thanks for your efforts! the violet was given to the owner of the nursery. i suspect it was grown from seed from an alpine society or expedition distribution. i dont know that all species distributed by alpine societies are neccessarily alpine, but mostly they tend to be cool climate stuff.next time i'm up on the hill, i'll see if the donor might be tracked for some more info. it is possible it was grown from seed labelled Viola sp., as sometimes happens with distributions. the fact it was offered with no name suggests the donor didnt know the species, either. but the vital clue for us might be, as you suggest, the country or even continent of origin. my thanks again....rob...

Hi, friends.
Long time no see you.
Now I am very interested in Violas from South America, though my
knowledge on them is very little.

The idea of Gerd is maybe correct. At least it must be not Japanese
violets. We have no shrub species in this genus.

These links are only reference for our study. Specimen of similar
species from Lieden University(L). Viola subdimidiara and Viola rubella.

Sincerely,
MASASHI IGARI
Toyohashi, Japan
URL= http://www.plantsindex.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: 2 species of South America

dear friend masashi, thank you for your investigations. the species you suggest, v. rubella, seems to be similar to what i have. one major thing, before everyone starts cheering, is that the dry flower in the herbarium sheet seems 'large' in comparison to the leaves. the leaves on my violet appear similar, but the flowers are quite small, only a few mm., perhaps 1/2 to 1/3 the size of odorata flowers. but the stems and leaves suggest we may be getting closer to an identity. we have had some hot days here recently and alomost all the seed pods shed their seed before i could collect it. the plant seems to be entering a new phase of growth, so perhaps i may encourage it to produce more flowers and seeds. i will keep you all posted...
thank you again, masashi...
rob...

Dear Rob,
I'm just back from a four weeks trip to Chile where I found a lot of flowering specimens of Viola rubella. This violet has indeed very small flowers (5 - 7 mm) and the herbarium sheet from Lieden is somewhat confusing concerning the relation of the flowers to the leaves. According your foto your plant differs slightly from Viola rubella in the pink coloured flowers and the size of the stipules. V. rubella has (with some rare exceptions) a dirty rosecoloured corolla and smaller stipules. But maybe Masashi is right with his idea and your plant is a variation of a species which can be determined as V. rubella. I was able to collect some seeds. If you like I'll send some for comparison.
Kind regards
Gerd

Fantastic stuff!
A story unfolding from the melding of minds and experiences of Viola enthusiasts from Australia, Germany, Japan, France - the world!
And now, surely, closing-in on the answer.

Three factors which might explain discrepancies between your plant, Rob, and descriptions of Viola rubella:
1. Stipule size (amongst other features) can vary on a single plant during the course of a year, for many species of Viola; it would be worth waiting until you have observed your plant during a whole year since reaching maturity. This is nothing new to you, of course.
2. If V. rubella usually grows at considerable altitude, it may appear different when grown nearer sea level - due to atmospheric pressure, ultra-violet light levels, etc. I say 'if' because I think its range includes quite low altitudes.
3. It seems there has been considerable scope for crossing and back-crossing in South American species of Viola over the millenia (going on what Prof. Moore told me from his studies there), so your plant might be mainly V. rubella but with a hint of another species; in practical terms this could manifest itself as V. rubella simply being variable.

NARGS include Viola rubella in their current seed list (http://www.nargs.org/seed/GardenFile.txt) - number 4243. This is listed as having been collected from a garden, and from material originally from Chile. Maybe if you contact NARGS, they will be able to tell you the collector, or at least they might relay a question to the collector from you. You might find they collector had a contact in Australia... Or maybe NARGS themselves would be able to tell you to whom they sent seed of V. rubella in the past...

You might contact John Watson, as an expert Andean plant hunter, to see if he can help confirm the masterful insight of Gerd and Masashi (pointing the finger at V. rubella). [John Watson & Anita Flores, c/o MJ Cheese, Silvercove, Lee Downs, Ilfracome, North Devon EX34 8LR, UK or 24 Kingsway, Petts Wood, Orpington, Kent BR5 1PR, UK -sorry, I don't know which is the current address]

Best wishes,
Mike

I notice that RBG Kew includes Viola rubella in their list of plants in their living collection (1987-3881, collected by L. Soto). I haven't seen it there; I'm just adding to the pool of info here.

No germination from your seeds yet Rob, BTW; but I'm still watching...

Howdy all,

I was given seed of true Viola rubella from two different collection points in Chile and am happy to say I have at least a dozen that have germinated from each collection. They are very small, only a few leaves each yet but growing well. When Rob and I were out and about one day we managed to go to the nursery that had more pots of the plant Rob originally posted. The one that I purchased is just coming into flower. Will take a few pics of the whole plant when it fully expands.

Any other south american violets being grown out there?? Some look very interesting and would be very suitable for we Australians!!!

Cheers,

Charles

Nice going Charles - look forward to the piccies.

Still no germination from the seeds you sent me, Rob - and the ones I have unearthed are just remnant shells - may have been hollow. My sincere thanks for giving me the opportunity to try to grow some; just sorry I wasn't able to do your efforts justice.

Mike

dear mike, as charles says, there will be a fresh crop of seed soon. the harsh late spring last year made carefull seed collection a low priority. we were busy trying to save plants from the looming summer. the season is much better this year. i trust not too many losses in european collections with the dreadful summer you have had. i read in the papers an oak tree planted in paris in the 1600's died of heat stress this year. heaven help a violet!
regards, to all,
rob...

I just went to check for a germination but nothing yet here too...
Still cross the fingers as it is a very interesting specie, that I could be able to compair with a V. rubella from Chile if it too germinates!! ...Too much "If"

I raised two plants from Rob's seeds of the "Australian rubella". There are no differences to my Viola rubella from Chile in growth, leaves and stipules. Unfortunately there will be no flowers this year but a look at Charles foto strongly supports the identification as the species mentioned above.
Gerd

Well done Gerd!
So you might have already quite big young plants? Did they germinate a long time ago?
Which technic of seedling did you used?
I put them in a peat potting soil in a shady and covered place outdoor...

Dear Nathalie,
I treated the seeds with GA 3 at March 13th (on filter paper/temperature about 10 ° C). Only 2 grains (of about 10) germinated some weeks later. Then I transplanted them in a peaty potting soil which some sand and pumice added. Now they are of a height of about 10 cm. I don't believe that Gibberelline is necessary because with my own seeds of Viola rubella I had good germination within the same time without using GA 3. For sowing I use a mix of 2 parts peat, 1 part sand and 1 part sterilized loamy soil (from meadows). In spring I don't place the pots outside to avoid freezing. The young plants were placed always shady especially this nearly tropical summer. That's it. I think I don't have to tell you that violets often germinate during the second spring after sowing. Good luck.
Gerd

Just a note to say that it's my turn to have a germination on Viola rubella from Chili. How slowly it grows.The young plant stayed nearly two weeks at the cotyledon stage before showing a true leave. ( Had to check it was not a weed before make the annoucement!)
Nothing on "Rob's australian rubella"...
Perhaps one difference?
Will keep you informed
Cheers
Nathalie