The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Douglas' golden violet, Douglas' or Douglas' golden violet, Douglas' violet, Douglas' yellow violet, golden violet

Cascades early blue violet, common periwinkle, early blue violet, hook-spur violet, hookedspur violet, large periwinkle, sand violet, western dog violet, wild dog violet

Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–20 cm. Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 1.8–30(–35) cm.
Stems

1–3, decumbent or ascending to erect, ca. 1/2 subterranean, glabrous or puberulent, from single, short, vertical, deep-seated caudex.

1–5, erect, ascending, or decumbent, sometimes later reclining to nearly prostrate, glabrous or puberulent, on caudex from subligneous rhizome.

Leaves

basal and cauline;

basal: 1–6, bipinnately compound, leaflets 3–5;

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

petiole 5–6.8 cm, glabrous or puberulent;

blade ovate, 3.5–5 × 2.4–3.5 cm, base tapered, leaflets 3–5-lobed, lobes linear, narrowly elliptic, or oblong, 1–2.5(–5) mm wide, margins entire, usually densely ciliate, apex acute to obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces glabrous or puberulent;

cauline similar to basal except: stipules ovate to linear-lanceolate, margins entire or toothed, apex acute;

petiole 0.9–4 cm;

blade 1.1–4.1 × 1–3.6 cm.

basal and cauline;

basal: 1–4;

stipules linear to linear-lanceolate, margins entire or laciniate with gland-tipped projections, apex acute to acuminate;

petiole 0.5–13.5 cm, glabrous or puberulent;

blade usually ovate or ovate-deltate to ovate-orbiculate, sometimes ± reniform or oblong, 0.5–6.9 × 0.4–5 cm, base cordate, subcordate, truncate, or attenuate, usually decurrent on petiole, margins crenate to crenulate or entire, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous or sparsely to densely puberulent;

cauline similar to basal except: stipule margins lacerate to laciniate;

petiole 0.5–6.5 cm;

blade 0.6–5.5 × 0.4–4.7 cm.

Peduncles

2–12.5 cm, glabrous or puberulent.

1.7–13.8 cm, glabrous or puberulent.

Flowers

sepals lanceolate, margins ciliate, auricles 0.5–1.5 mm;

petals light golden yellow adaxially, upper 2 dark brown to ± black abaxially, lower 3 dark brown-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 8–21 mm, spur dark greenish to dark brown, gibbous, 1.5–2 mm;

style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers absent.

sepals lanceolate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles not enlarged in fruit, 0.5–2 mm;

petals light- to deep- to lavender-violet on both surfaces, rarely white, lower 3 usually white basally, dark violet-veined, lateral 2 (and sometimes upper 2) bearded, lowest 7–17(–23) mm, spur purple to violet or white, elongated, 5–7 mm, tip straight or pointed, curved up or lateral;

style head sparsely to densely bearded, sometimes beardless; cleistogamous flowers axillary.

Capsules

spherical to oblong, 5–12 mm, glabrous.

short-ovoid, 6–11 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

light brown, 2.8–3.3 mm.

dark brown to olive-black, 1.5–2 mm.

2n

= 24, 48.

Viola douglasii

Viola adunca

Phenology Flowering Feb–Jul.
Habitat Vernally moist grassy slopes and flats, often serpentine soil (except Oregon)
Elevation 20–2300 m (100–7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AZ; CA; CO; IA; ID; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; ND; NE; NH; NM; NV; NY; OR; SD; UT; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Viola douglasii is tetraploid (n = 12) south of, and octoploid (n = 24) north of, San Francisco Bay, California. It forms sterile hybrids with V. quercetorum (J. Clausen 1964). V. B. Baird (1936) described V. douglasii × purpurea, which Clausen later said was actually V. quercetorum, not described at the time of Baird’s publication.

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

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Viola adunca is polymorphic with over 50 named taxa. G. D. McPherson and J. G. Packer (1974) reported that diploid, triploid, and tetraploid races of V. adunca occur in Canada and northwestern United States. They found that diploid and tetraploid chromosome races can be distinguished morphologically based on style beards and on the size of guard cells and pollen grains and recommended taxonomic recognition of both races. In diploid races, the style projections are more or less cylindrical and about one-sixth the width of the style; in tetraploid races they are short-conical or globular, and about one-tenth or less than the width of the style beard.

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

Key
1. Plants (4–)4.5–30(–35) cm; basal blades 1.3–6.9 × 1.2–5 cm; peduncles 3–13.8 cm; 0–3600 m; widespread in North America.
var. adunca
1. Plants 1.8–4.5(–6.5) cm; basal blades 0.5–1.7 × 0.4–1.4 cm; peduncles 1.7–5 cm; 2500–3800 m; restricted to Rocky Mountains (Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, British Columbia).
var. bellidifolia
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 129. FNA vol. 6, p. 119.
Parent taxa Violaceae > Viola Violaceae > Viola
Sibling taxa
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. 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. 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. 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. adunca var. adunca, V. adunca var. bellidifolia
Synonyms V. chrysantha Lophion aduncum, V. canina var. adunca
Name authority Steudel: Nomencl. Bot. ed. 2, 2. 771. (1841) Smith: in A. Rees, Cycl. 37: Viola no. 63
Web links