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Baker's violet, yellow prairie violet

kidney-leaf or kidney-shape or white violet, kidney-leaf violet, kidney-leaf white violet, northern white violet, violette réniforme, white 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, 1–5, prostrate to ascending;

stipules linear-lanceolate, margins entire to sparsely laciniate, apex acute;

petiole 3–10 cm, strigose, sericeous, or villous, occasionally glabrous;

blade unlobed, reniform or ovate to broadly ovate or orbiculate, 1.5–3.5 × 2–5 cm, base cordate to broadly cordate, margins serrate-crenate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, obtuse, or rounded, occasionally acuminate, surfaces usually sparsely to densely strigose, sericeous, or villous throughout or along veins, sometimes glabrous.

Peduncles

1.5–11.6 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

3–8 cm, 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 to ovate, margins usually eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm;

petals white on both surfaces, lower 3 purple-veined, all beardless or lower 3 sparsely bearded, lowest 8–10 mm, spur white, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on prostrate to ascending peduncles.

Capsules

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

ovoid to ellipsoid, 5–8 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

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

mottled beige to bronze, 1.5–2.2 mm.

2n

= 48.

= 24.

Viola bakeri

Viola renifolia

Phenology Flowering May–Jul. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Wet and dry places in openings of coniferous forests Moist, often shaded alluvial or upland forests, shrub thickets, stream banks, swamp forests, bogs, fens
Elevation 900–3800 m (3000–12500 ft) 200–3000 m (700–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CO; CT; IA; ID; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NY; PA; SD; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT
[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.)

Nonflowering plants of Viola renifolia and V. epipsila appear similar. The abaxial leaf surfaces of V. renifolia usually have a few short, straight hairs on the main veins; leaves of V. epipsila are usually glabrous (C. Parker, pers. comm.). Viola renifolia can appear similar to V. macloskeyi. V. B. Baird (1942) wrote that V. renifolia sometimes produces ascending stems. H. A. Gleason and A. Cronquist (1991) noted that if stolons were present, they were short and racemelike with cleistogamous flowers. The ascending stems and stolons mentioned by these authors may or may not be different phases of the same structure.

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 121. FNA vol. 6, p. 153.
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. pedata, V. pedatifida, V. pedunculata, V. pinetorum, V. praemorsa, V. primulifolia, V. prionantha, V. pubescens, V. purpurea, V. quercetorum, 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. blanda var. renifolia, V. brainerdii, V. mistassinica, V. renifolia var. brainerdii
Name authority Greene: Pittonia 3: 307. (1898) A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 288. (1870)
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