Viola bakeri
Viola quercetorum
Baker's violet, yellow prairie violet
goosefoot violet, goosefoot yellow violet, oakwoods violet
1–4, usually erect, sometimes prostrate or decumbent, leafy proximally and distally, usually puberulent, from usually vertical, subligneous rhizome.
1–5, spreading to erect, leafy proximally and distally, usually elongated by end of season, puberulent to canescent, on caudex from 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: 1–6;
stipules adnate to petiole, forming 2 linear, membranous wings, each wing with lanceolate to ± deltate projection, margins entire or laciniate, apex usually long-acuminate or divided into narrow, filiform processes;
petiole 1.9–9.5 cm, puberulent;
blade usually grayish green to whitish, sometimes ± purple-tinted abaxially, green to grayish green adaxially, ± ovate to ± orbiculate, deltate, pandurate, or broadly brownish purple abaxially, lower 3 dark brown-veined, lateral 2 sparsely to densely bearded, lowest 10–16 mm, spur yellow to reddish brown, gibbous, 1–2 mm;
style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers axillary.
1.5–11.6 cm, glabrous or 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.
spherical to ovoid, 5–10 mm, usually glabrous, rarely finely puberulent.
ovoid to ellipsoid, 8–12 mm, puberulent.
light to medium brown or dark red-brown, 2.6–3.1 mm, elaiosome not covering funiculus.
medium brown, ± 2.7 mm.
= 48.
= 24.
Viola bakeri
Viola quercetorum
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.)
Herbarium specimens of Viola quercetorum and V. purpurea var. purpurea can be difficult to distinguish; pressing obliterates the undulate leaf margins of V. quercetorum. In Oregon, most collections of V. quercetorum are from yellow pine forests (A. Liston, pers. comm.).
Viola quercetorum hybridizes with V. douglasii (J. Clausen 1964).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
