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Baker's violet, yellow prairie violet

dog violet, heath dog-violet

Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–30 cm. Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 2–40 cm.
Stems

1–4, usually erect, sometimes prostrate or decumbent, leafy proximally and distally, usually puberulent, from usually vertical, subligneous rhizome.

1–5, ascending to erect, glabrous, on caudex from subligneous rhizome.

Leaves

basal and cauline;

basal: 1–4;

stipules adnate to petiole, forming 2 linear-lanceolate wings, margins entire, apex of each wing free, acute to acuminate;

petiole 1–15.4 cm, glabrous or puberulent;

blade lanceolate, oblanceolate, or elliptic, rarely ovate, 1.8–8.8 × 0.7–3.9 cm, thin, base attenuate, often oblique, margins usually entire, sometimes with a few sharp teeth or crenulate, ciliate, apex acute to obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces glabrous or puberulent on margins or veins;

cauline similar to basal except: stipules ovate to lanceolate, margins entire or lacerate, sometimes with glandular projections, apex with 2–3 projections;

petiole 1.5–7.5 cm;

blade 1.9–6.7 × 0.5–1.6 cm.

cauline;

stipules linear to lanceolate, margins ± lacerate to subentire, points often gland-tipped, apex acute;

petiole 0.3–2.5 cm, glabrous;

blade ovate to narrowly ovate, 1.2–5.2 × 1–2.7 cm, base cordate or deeply cordate to truncate, margins crenate, eciliate, apex acute to obtuse, abaxial surface glabrous or sparsely pubescent on veins, adaxial surface glabrous or sparsely pubescent.

Peduncles

1.5–11.6 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

1–10 cm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent.

Flowers

sepals lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;

petals deep lemon-yellow adaxially, upper 2 often brownish purple abaxially, lower 3 dark brown- to brownish purple-veined, lateral 2 sparsely bearded, lowest 6–14 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 1–2 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.

sepals lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 2–3 mm;

petals usually blue- to gray-violet on both surfaces, rarely white, white basally, lower 3 dark violet-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 15–25 mm, spur light yellow to light green or white, gibbous to usually elongated, 3–5 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers axillary.

Capsules

spherical to ovoid, 5–10 mm, usually glabrous, rarely finely puberulent.

ovoid, 7.5–9 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

light to medium brown or dark red-brown, 2.6–3.1 mm, elaiosome not covering funiculus.

light to dark brown; 1.7–2.1 mm.

2n

= 48.

= 40.

Viola bakeri

Viola canina

Phenology Flowering May–Jul. Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat Wet and dry places in openings of coniferous forests Sunny to shady, dry to slightly moist ground, heath lands, grazed or mown grassland, dunes, rock ledges, open woodland, disturbed areas (roadsides, railway banks, gravel pits), littoral vegetation of lakes and streams
Elevation 900–3800 m (3000–12500 ft) 20–300 m (100–1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
Greenland; Europe; Asia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

M. S. Baker (1957) wrote that Viola bakeri flowers were often without a brownish tinge on the back. Subsequent collections have shown that the upper two petals of V. bakeri are often brownish purple abaxially and thus this characteristic cannot be used to distinguish V. bakeri from V. praemorsa, as previously done (P. A. Munz 1959; C. L. Hitchcock et al. 1955–1969, vol. 3).

Greene wrote in his description of Viola bakeri that the whole plant was glabrous; he did not mention leaf margins. M. S. Baker (1957) examined the type specimen at UC and apparently was the first to document that its leaf margins are entire. He also noted that under magnification the leaves are ciliate and more or less puberulent. D. M. Fabijan et al. (1987) stated that margins were always entire and ciliate and more or less pubescent throughout. Some collections of V. bakeri

from California have leaves with a sharp point or two on the margin, or crenulations on some portion of the basal or cauline blade margins.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Viola canina was possibly introduced in Greenland (T. Marcussen and T. Karlsson et al. 2010).

Hybrids of Viola canina are known with the European species V. mirabilis Linnaeus, V. pumila Chaix, V. reichenbachiana Jordan ex Boreau, V. riviniana Reichenbach, V. rupestris F. W. Schmidt (both subspecies), V. stagnina Kitaibel, and V. uliginosa Besser.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 121. FNA vol. 6, p. 127.
Parent taxa Violaceae > Viola Violaceae > Viola
Sibling taxa
V. adunca, V. affinis, V. arvensis, V. beckwithii, V. bicolor, V. biflora, V. blanda, V. brittoniana, V. canadensis, V. canina, V. charlestonensis, V. clauseniana, V. cucullata, V. cuneata, V. douglasii, V. egglestonii, V. epipsila, V. flettii, V. frank-smithii, V. glabella, V. guadalupensis, V. hallii, V. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. lithion, V. lobata, V. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, V. nephrophylla, V. novae-angliae, V. nuttallii, V. ocellata, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palmata, V. palustris, V. pedata, V. pedatifida, V. pedunculata, V. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, V. purpurea, V. quercetorum, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. rostrata, V. rotundifolia, V. sagittata, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. septemloba, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. striata, V. subsinuata, V. tomentosa, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. tripartita, V. umbraticola, V. utahensis, V. vallicola, V. villosa, V. walteri
V. adunca, V. affinis, V. arvensis, V. bakeri, V. beckwithii, V. bicolor, V. biflora, V. blanda, V. brittoniana, V. canadensis, V. charlestonensis, V. clauseniana, V. cucullata, V. cuneata, V. douglasii, V. egglestonii, V. epipsila, V. flettii, V. frank-smithii, V. glabella, V. guadalupensis, V. hallii, V. hastata, V. hirsutula, V. howellii, V. japonica, V. labradorica, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. lithion, V. lobata, V. macloskeyi, V. missouriensis, V. nephrophylla, V. novae-angliae, V. nuttallii, V. ocellata, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palmata, V. palustris, V. pedata, V. pedatifida, V. pedunculata, V. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, V. purpurea, V. quercetorum, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. rostrata, V. rotundifolia, V. sagittata, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. septemloba, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. striata, V. subsinuata, V. tomentosa, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. tripartita, V. umbraticola, V. utahensis, V. vallicola, V. villosa, V. walteri
Synonyms V. bakeri subsp. shastensis, V. nuttallii var. bakeri V. canina var. montana, V. montana, V. nemoralis
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 3: 307. (1898) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 935. (1753)
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