Viola bakeri
Viola charlestonensis
Baker's violet, yellow prairie violet
Charleston Mountain or Charleston violet, Charleston Mountain violet
1–4, usually erect, sometimes prostrate or decumbent, leafy proximally and distally, usually puberulent, from usually vertical, subligneous rhizome.
1–3, prostrate, decumbent, or erect, leafy proximally and distally, 1/2–2/3 subterranean, glabrous or puberulent, on caudex from usually vertical, subligneous rhizome.
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.
basal and cauline;
basal: 1–3;
stipules adnate to petiole, forming 2 linear-lanceolate wings, margins entire or sparingly lacerate, apex of each wing free, acuminate;
petiole 3.5–13.5 cm, densely short-puberulent;
blade purplish abaxially (often dark purple-veined), grayish adaxially with prominent whitish veins (from dense hairs), usually orbiculate to broadly ovate, sometimes reniform, thick, 1–3.5 × 1.1–3.3 cm, base attenuate or truncate, margins entire, ciliate mostly on proximal half of blade, apex acute to obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces densely short-puberulent;
cauline similar to basal except: stipules deltate to lanceolate, apex acute;
petiole 1.9–3.4 cm;
blade ovate or elliptic to deltate, 0.7–3.1 × 0.6–2.2 cm, length 0.7–1.9 times width, base usually attenuate, sometimes subcordate, margins entire, ciliate.
1.5–11.6 cm, glabrous or pubescent.
1.7–6.6 cm, pubescent.
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 linear-lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 0.5–1 mm;
petals deep lemon-yellow adaxially, upper 2 usually conspicuously reddish brown to brownish purple abaxially, lateral 2 streaked or solid reddish brown, lower 3 and sometimes upper 2 dark brown-veined proximally, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 8–13 mm, spur usually reddish brown, sometimes yellowish, gibbous, 0.4–2 mm, glabrous or scabrous abaxially;
style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.
spherical to ovoid, 5–10 mm, usually glabrous, rarely finely puberulent.
spherical, 4.5–9 mm, puberulent.
light to medium brown or dark red-brown, 2.6–3.1 mm, elaiosome not covering funiculus.
black, 3.4–3.5 mm.
= 48.
= 12.
Viola bakeri
Viola charlestonensis
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 charlestonensis is known only from the Spring Mountains (previously called Charleston Mountains) in Nevada and Zion National Park, Utah. M. S. Baker (in I. W. Clokey 1945) stated that E. C. Jaeger reportedly collected it at Jacob’s Pool, Arizona, in July 1926. The location of this single Arizona collection may be an error (R. J. Little 2001).
M. S. Baker and J. Clausen (in I. W. Clokey 1945) stated that Viola charlestonensis is the only species in Becker’s Nuttallianae group with the spur pubescent on the exterior. In some populations in the Spring Mountains, Nevada, the spur and the midvein on the abaxial surface of the lowest petal to ± the middle of the lowest petal are covered ± densely with short hairs. Scattered hairs are also present on the abaxial surface of the lateral and upper petals. In other populations in the Spring Mountains, short hairs are mostly absent on the spur, lowest petal, and abaxial surfaces of lateral and upper petals.
M. S. Baker (in I. W. Clokey 1945) commented that he observed numerous sterile flowers and relatively few mature capsules and seeds of Viola charlestonensis plants when he visited the Spring Mountains in June 1937. Similar observations were made of V. charlestonensis plants in the Spring Mountains at one location in 2009 and of three other locations in 2010.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
