3. Petunia ×atkinsiana atkinsiana (Sweet) D. Don ex W. H. Baxter in J. C. Loudon, Hort. Brit. ed. 3. 655. 1839.
Common garden or hybrid petunia
Nierembergia × atkinsiana Sweet, Brit. Fl. Gard. 6: plate 268. 1834; Petunia × hybrida E. Vilmorin
Stems 0.9–10 dm. Leaf blades: proximalmost oblanceolate, distalmost lanceolate to ovate, 1–12 (including petiole) × 0.2–5 cm, margins entire. Pedicels 1–6 cm. Flowers: calyx 7–21 mm, lobes 4–16 mm; corolla white to pale pink with white tube (drying white to pale violet), veins green to deep pink or dark purple (drying brownish to deep violet), ± funnelform, tube 1.1–5.5 cm, limb 1.3–7 cm wide; stamens inserted at base or near midpoint of corolla tube, longest 2 just shorter than to just surpassing style; anthers and pollen blue, violet, or yellow; filaments blue, violet, or yellow; pistil 2–4.5 cm. Capsules 5–15 mm. 2n = 14.
Flowering Apr–Oct(–Dec). Waste places, along railroads and roadsides, poor soil, gravel, or sand; 0–1600 m; introduced; Ont., Que.; Ala., Ark., Calif., Conn., Fla., Ga., Ill., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., S.C., Tex., Utah, Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.; introduced also in Europe, Asia, Australia.
Petunia × atkinsiana is the most commonly naturalized of the three species and is often robust. When fertile, it can spread by seed from cultivation and become established in disturbed areas. Some herbarium specimens probably represent waifs; it is often difficult to determine from label data. Cultivated plants are available in a wide range of colors and color patterns. Only white to pale pink morphs were seen in specimens representing naturalized populations; other color forms may be fertile and may occur outside of cultivation.
