Viola what?

[JohnnyD]

Clare grew this from seed labelled 'Liliput' - but we can find no provenance for that name.
The flowers are 7mm wide and the hairy leaves up to 8/10mm wide/long.
It has flowered in 14 months from sowing.
All clues considered!!!!!!!!!!
JohnnyD

[JohnnyD]

Looking better all the time - but what the heck is it???

[Maggi Young]

There is this  :  Viola lilliputana sp. nov. (Viola sect. Andinium, Violaceae), one of the world's smallest violets, from the Andes of Peru   by Harvey E. BallardJr. , Hugh H. Iltis

Abstract:

A new violet species of Viola Sect. Andinium, Viola lilliputana, is described from a single dry puna locality on an extensive intermontane plateau southeast of Cerro Palla Palla in the high Andes of Ayacucho Department in southern Peru. This diminutive rosulate violet is evidently among the smallest in the world and probably one of the smallest terrestrial dicots. It belongs to a distinctive species group with pinnatifid leaves that is endemic to central and southern Peru, including V. hillii, V. membranacea and V. weibelii. The new species is similar to V. weibelii in its large, strongly adnate stipules, elongate leaf lobes and dilated unappendaged style with ventral stigmatic orifice. It differs conspicuously from all other members of the pinnatifid-leaved group in its conduplicate leaf blades, straight, mostly nonoverlapping, oblong-lanceolate to broadly elliptical lobes with obtuse to rounded apices, and large basally fused pedicel bractlets. Despite many new collections of vascular plants from the high Andes of Peru and northern Bolivia in recent decades, this distinctive new species is still known only from its type locality, collected on the Iltis-Ugent expedition from November 1962 to January 1963.


 But I'm  sure your plant is not this !

[JohnnyD]

I agree Maggi - the foliage is completely different.
J.

[Gerdk]

I am still confused with this odd violet.  According it leaves it reminds me of a dwarf form of the Viola rivininiana purpurea group
(aka V. labradorica purpurea) as Viola ' Sidborough Poppet ' - but, the shape of the flowers doesn't seem to fit.
Maybe the seller of this interesting plant can be asked for more information.

Gerd

[johnralphcarpenter]

I am still confused with this odd violet.  According it leaves it reminds me of a dwarf form of the Viola rivininiana purpurea group
(aka V. labradorica purpurea) as Viola ' Sidborough Poppet ' - but, the shape of the flowers doesn't seem to fit.
Maybe the seller of this interesting plant can be asked for more information.

Gerd

Speaking of which...

[Maggi Young]

Speaking of which...

How pretty!  And I'll bet the sparrows just love the seeds!

[johnralphcarpenter]

They leave plenty to germinate everywhere.

[Gerdk]

Speaking of which...

Yes, this is Viola riviniiana of the Purpurea Group - just as weedy as everywhere, still labbelled as
Viola labradorica - in Germany as 'Grönland Veilchen' - Greenland violet. The real Viola labradorica
behaves less weedy and is somewhat tricky in cultivation.

Gerd

[JohnnyD]

I am hoping to discover who sent the seed to the AGS exchange. That may help in identification.
JohnnyD

[Diane Clement]

I've finally found some more information that came with this seed donation:

"Viola 'Lilliput'  like a tiny V riviniana Purpurea Group, max 2cm, comes true from seed"

[JohnnyD]

Thanks Diane.
Perhaps the judges will take it more seriously then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
J.

[Martinr]

Thanks Diane.
Perhaps the judges will take it more seriously then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
J.

Only if you stage it with a large magnifying glass fixed over the top so we can see the flowers

[JohnnyD]

THAT'S why I printed a pic alongside the plant Martin! So judges who are, perhaps, 'hard of seeing' coukl see what was there.
J.