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Baker's violet, yellow prairie violet

bird-foot violet

Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–30 cm. Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–30 cm; rhizome thick, fleshy.
Stems

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

basal, 4–10, ascending to erect, deeply divided;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire, lacerate, or shallowly divided, apex acute;

petiole 2–12 cm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent;

blade 3–9(–10)-lobed, lobes similar in width and shape, spatulate, lanceolate ± linear, deltate, or ovate, 1–4 × 1–4 cm, base attenuate or broadly cordate to cuneate, margins entire, ciliate or eciliate, apex rounded to usually acute, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent on abaxial veins.

Peduncles

1.5–11.6 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

5–12 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

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 mostly ciliate, at least proximally, auricles 1–2 mm;

petals uniformly light to dark blue-violet on both surfaces or upper 2 darker adaxially, sometimes white, upper and lateral 2 often darker basally, lowest, seldom others, dark violet-veined, all beardless, lowest white basally, 12–24 mm, spur white, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers absent.

Capsules

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

ellipsoid, 6–10 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

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

beige, mottled to brown, 1.4–3 mm.

2n

= 48.

= 56.

Viola bakeri

Viola pedata

Phenology Flowering May–Jul.
Habitat Wet and dry places in openings of coniferous forests
Elevation 900–3800 m (3000–12500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; WI; WV; ON
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Leaf blades 7–9-lobed, lobes spatulate, lanceolate, or ± linear, sometimes with narrowly deltate to falcate appendages toward apex.
var. pedata
1. Leaf blades 3–5(–10)-lobed, lobes deltate or ovate.
var. ranunculifolia
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 121. FNA vol. 6, p. 143.
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. 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
V. pedata var. pedata, V. pedata var. ranunculifolia
Synonyms V. bakeri subsp. shastensis, V. nuttallii var. bakeri
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 3: 307. (1898) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 933. (1753)
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