Plants and Animals
Viola novae-angliae New England violet
Key Characteristics
Small forb of riverbanks and wet-mesic sand prairies; stemless, with narrowly heart-shaped leaves, hairy petioles; flower blue, with sepals not minutely fringed.
Status and Rank
US Status: No Status/Not Listed
State Status: T - Threatened (legally protected)
Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure
State Rank: S2 - Imperiled
Occurrences
| County | Number of Occurrences | Year Last Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Crawford | 2 | 2021 |
| Delta | 3 | 1990 |
| Gogebic | 1 | 2004 |
| Houghton | 1 | 2010 |
| Kalkaska | 1 | 1993 |
| Marquette | 1 | 1990 |
Information is summarized from MNFI's database of rare species and community occurrences. Data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed.
Habitat
New England violet occurs primarily in low open ground with exposed limestone along rivers in the Upper Peninsula. In northern Lower Michigan, it is found in wet-mesic sand prairies in small to large swales within pine barrens complexes.
Natural Community Types
For each species, lists of natural communities were derived from review of the nearly 6,500 element occurrences in the MNFI database, in addition to herbarium label data for some taxa. In most cases, at least one specimen record exists for each listed natural community. For certain taxa, especially poorly collected or extirpated species of prairie and savanna habitats, natural community lists were derived from inferences from collection sites and habitat preferences in immediately adjacent states (particularly Indiana and Illinois). Natural communities are not listed for those species documented only from altered or ruderal habitats in Michigan, especially for taxa that occur in a variety of habitats outside of the state.
Natural communities are not listed in order of frequency of occurrence, but are rather derived from the full set of natural communities, organized by Ecological Group. In many cases, the general habitat descriptions should provide greater clarity and direction to the surveyor. In future versions of the Rare Species Explorer, we hope to incorporate natural community fidelity ranks for each taxon.
Associated Plants
Mat muhly, Cooper's milk-vetch, veiny meadow-rue, bulrush sedge, wild grass, wild chives, butterwort, and northern spikemoss. In mesic sand prairies, it may grow with Red oak, jack pine, black cherry, sand cherry, shrubby cinquefoil, pale spike lobelia, slender wheatgrass, Indian paintbrush, low sweet blueberry, meadow-sweet, poverty grass, hairy goldenrod, leatherleaf, Houghton's goldenrod, Vasey's rush, long-leaved aster, Clinton's bulrush, sweet fern, big bluestem, switch grass.
Management Recommendations
To protect this species, maintain moderately open woodlands via selective logging. Certain human disturbances, if they do not disturb the soil chemistry or strongly shade sites, may enhance the vigor and viability of a given population. Protection of hydrology, even if the water table is not evident at the surface, is also like to be critical.
Survey Methods
Random meander search covers areas that appear likely to have rare taxa, based on habitat and the judgement of the investigator.
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Meander search
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Survey Period: From first week of May to fourth week of June
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References
Survey References
- Elzinga, C.L., D.W. Salzer, and J.W. Willoughby. 1998. Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations. The Nature Conservancy and Bureau of Land Management, Denver. BLM Technical Reference 1730-1. 477pp.
- Goff, G.F., G.A. Dawson, and J.J. Rochow. 1982. Site examination for Threatened and Endangered plant species. Environmental Management 6(4): 307-316
- Nelson, J.R. 1984. Rare Plant Field Survey Guidelines. In: J.P. Smith and R. York. Inventory of rare and endangered vascular plants of California. 3rd Ed. California Native Plant Society, Berkeley. 174pp.
- Nelson, J.R. 1986. Rare Plant Surveys: Techniques For Impact Assessment. Natural Areas Journal 5(3):18-30.
- Nelson, J.R. 1987. Rare Plant Surveys: Techniques for Impact Assessment. In: Conservation and management of rare and endangered plants. Ed. T.S. Elias. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 8pp.
Technical References
- Coffin, B. and L. Pfannmuller, eds. 1988. Minnesota's Endangered Flora and Fauna. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. 473pp.
- Gleason, H. A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second edition. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. 910pp.
- Gray, A. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany; eighth ed. Van Nostrand Reinghold, New York. 1632pp.
- Holmgren, N.H. 1998. Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Illustrations of the vascular plants of Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. 937pp.
- Scoggan, H.J. 1978. The Flora of Canada. National Museum of Natural Science Publications Botany 4: 1711pp.
- Voss, E. G. 1985. Michigan Flora. Part II. Dicots (Saururaceae-Cornaceae). Bulletin of the Cranbrook Institute of Science and University of Michigan Herbarium. 724pp.