Chasmogamous and Cleistogamous Reproductive Phenology in Viola rotundifolia at Ricketts Glen State Park, PA

George P. Chamuris*

*Professor Emeritus, Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA 17815.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 29, Issue 2 (2022): 198–206

Abstract
I conducted a survey of individuals of Viola rotundifolia Michx. (Roundleaf Yellow Violet) during the spring and summer of 2021 in order to determine flowering and fruiting phenologies and to assess the extent to which individuals display chasmogamous (open) and cleistogamous (closed) flowering and fruiting at Ricketts Glen State Park in northeastern Pennsylvania. A total of 171 plants were marked and observed weekly. The majority of plants (73%) displayed chasmogamous flowering, with 65% displaying chasmogamous flowering exclusively. Cleistogamous flowering was displayed by 27% of the plants, with 19% being exclusively cleistogamous. Both conditions were displayed by 8% of the plants, and 8% remained vegetative. Among the plants assessed, 20 chasmogamous and 7 cleistogamous capsules were excised and removed, presumably by a small mammal or slug.

Download Full-text pdf (Accessible only to subscribers. To subscribe click here.)