Viola cunninghamii cleistogamy (i)

Description:

Four month old Viola cunninghamii (alpine violet) plant bearing cleistogamous flowers and developing fruit in the RTBG nursery. Cleistogamy is where flowers are produced that do not open and automatically self-pollinate. Production of both chasmogamous (open) and cleistogamous (closed) flowers is a commonly reported behaviour in Viola species. Viola cunninghamii is being grown at the RTBG nursery as part of seed orchard for the seedbank. The cleistogamous flowers here are rather small and easily overlooked. It wasn't until the fruits began to appear that we realised what the plants were doing.