A low lying, hairy annual or biennial with lobed leaves, large divided stipules and cream flowers on long stalks.
Description:
Cotyledons:
Two. 5 to 6 mm long. Tip rounded. Sides convex. Base tapered to squarish. Surface hairless. Petiole shorter than blade. The seedling has a very short hypocotyl and no epicotyl.
First leaves:
Arise singly, the first being 4 to 6 mm long with a short petiole. The early leaves are hairless and have a terminal and one lateral lobe on each side. As the plant grows the leaves become larger and more lobed.
Leaves:
The plant forms a rosette.
Stipules - Half as long to longer than the leaves, deeply divided into narrow lobes with the end node leaf like.
Petiole - Yes
Blade - Broadly egg shaped to elliptical, with a terminal and 2 or 3 lateral lobes per side or with rounded teeth. Obtuse tip. Squarish to tapered base.
Stem leaves - Two forms occur; In one the stem leaves are an elongated oval, lobed, and usually hairless. In the other the leaves are elongated with tooth-like lobes which tend to be forward directed, and are more or less hairy particularly towards the margin and on the veins on the underside. However both oval and elongated leaves may occur on the same plant. Surface hairless.
Stems:
Erect, 200-300 mm tall, hollow, angular with fine longitudinal ridges, and carry short hairs. May be branched.
Flower head:
The flowers are axillary and carried on long stalks(pedicels) as long as the leaf and twice as long when in fruit.
Flowers:
Cream, 10 mm in diameter.
Sepals - Narrowly egg shaped with a pointed tip and basal appendages. Lower sepals 7-8 mm long. Upper sepals slightly shorter
Petals - 5 petals; the upper 4 petals are cream in colour and the bottom petal cream with a yellow to orange centre and a short spur. Shorter than or equal to the sepals.
Stamens -
Anthers -
Fruit:
Triangular pyramid, 3 valved capsule, slightly longer than the calyx.
Seeds:
Roots:
Key Characters:
Annual pubescent herb.
Stems angular.
Stipules pinnately divided into linear lobes.
Fruit a 3 valved capsule.
Biology:
Life cycle:
Annual or biennial. Seeds germinate mainly in spring with a minor germination in autumn.
Physiology:
Reproduction:
By seed.
Flowering times:
Seed Biology and Germination:
Vegetative Propagules:
None.
Hybrids:
Allelopathy:
Population Dynamics and Dispersal:
Spread by seed.
Origin and History:
Europe. Northern Africa. Western Asia.
Distribution:
ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC.
Common in many parts of the north and south of Tasmania.
Habitats:
Wet areas.
Climate:
Temperate.
Soil:
Plant Associations:
Significance:
Beneficial:
Ornamental.
Detrimental:
Weed of crops, pastures, wetlands and disturbed areas.
Toxicity:
Not recorded as toxic.
Legislation:
None.
Management and Control:
Thresholds:
Eradication strategies:
Prevent seed set.
Manually remove isolated plants.
Herbicide resistance:
Biological Control:
Related plants:
Ivyleaf Violet (Viola hederacea)
Common Violet (Viola odorata)
Common Dog Violet (Viola riviniana).
Plants of similar appearance:
The lobed leaf of the seedling is not unlike that of Speedwell, Stagger-weed, and Dead Nettle, but Field Pansy is easy to separate from the seedlings of these species because it has leaves that are not paired, and it grows initially as a rosette.
References:
Burbidge, N.T. and Gray, M. (1970). Flora of the Australian Capital Territory. (Australian National University Press, Canberra). P258.
Hyde-Wyatt, B.H. and Morris, D.I. (1975). Tasmanian weed handbook. (Tasmanian Department of Agriculture, Hobart, Tasmania). P84-85. Diagrams.
Lamp, C. and Collet, F. (1990). A Field Guide to Weeds in Australia. (Inkata Press, Melbourne).
Lazarides, M. and Hince, B. (1993). CSIRO handbook of economic plants of Australia. (CSIRO, Melbourne). #1271.1.
Acknowledgments:
Collated by HerbiGuide. Phone 08 98444064 or www.herbiguide.com.au for more information.