Viola lanceolata. 2005 © Peter M. Dzuik.www.minnesotawildflowers.info (Accessed 4/2014).

Viola lanceolata is a low, stemless, perennial,  herb; colonial from slender, leafy rhizomes. 

Leaves in a rosette, alternate on rhizomes, narrow, about 8 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, margins toothed. 

Flowers white, with purplish veins at center, 5 petals bilaterally symmetrical, beardless, calyx persistent in fruit; producing closed, inconspicuous, self-fertilizing flowers during summer; blooms April-July. 

Fruit green, above old calyx, about 0.6 cm long, seeds numerous, brown; seeds often with a fleshy attachment, attractive to ants, which disperse them. 

Wetland status: OBL. 

Frequency in NYC: Very infrequent. 

Origin: Native. 

Habitat: Open or part shaded wet meadows, marsh edges.