Viola douglasii
Viola macloskeyi
Douglas' golden violet, Douglas' or Douglas' golden violet, Douglas' violet, Douglas' yellow violet, golden violet
Macloskey's or northern white or small white or smooth white or wild white violet, Macloskey's violet, northern white violet, small white violet, smooth white violet, violette pâle
1–3, decumbent or ascending to erect, ca. 1/2 subterranean, glabrous or puberulent, from single, short, vertical, deep-seated caudex.
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, 2–6, ascending to erect;
stipules ovate to linear-lanceolate, margins entire or glandular-toothed, apex acute;
petiole 1–10 cm, strigose;
blade unlobed, reniform to ovate, 1–6.5 × 1–5.5 cm, base broadly or shallowly cordate, margins ± entire or shallowly crenate, eciliate, apex rounded to acute, surfaces usually glabrous, abaxial surfaces sometimes puberulent on proximal 1/2.
2–12.5 cm, glabrous or puberulent.
2.5–11(–21) cm, usually glabrous, sometimes villous.
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 to ovate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–2 mm;
petals white on both surfaces, lower 3 purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, rarely beardless, lowest 6–12 mm, spur white, gibbous, 1–2.5 mm;
style head beardless; cleistogamous flowers on ascending peduncles.
spherical to oblong, 5–12 mm, glabrous.
ovoid, 5–9 mm, glabrous.
light brown, 2.8–3.3 mm.
beige to bronze, 1–1.5 mm.
= 24, 48.
= 24.
Viola douglasii
Viola macloskeyi
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.)
Viola macloskeyi was described by Banks in 1824 as V. rotundifolia var. pallens, from specimens collected by Banks in Labrador. E. Brainerd made the combination V. pallens in 1905 and later (1924) detailed its troublesome nomenclatural history.
Viola macloskeyi was described in 1895 by F. E. Lloyd based on specimens collected at the base of Mount Hood, Oregon. M. S. Baker (1953) placed V. macloskeyi as a subspecies of V. pallens. He later (1953b) corrected that change based on priority and thus the taxon became known as V. macloskeyi subsp. pallens. N. H. Russell (1955) maintained that status, separating subspp. macloskeyi and pallens on the wider, spreading basal leaf lobes of subsp. pallens. McKinney, after examining specimens of both taxa, including types, concluded that the differences have been exaggerated and fall within the range of variation of a single species.
Viola macloskeyi occurs in small colonies; individual plants are interconnected by stolons.
In parts of its range, Viola macloskeyi often shares habitat with V. renifolia; it may be difficult to distinguish the two. The stolons of V. macloskeyi are useful for identification during summer months; V. renifolia plants lack stolons. Patterns of indument can be useful; V. renifolia is usually hairy and V. macloskeyi is usually glabrous (petioles sometimes pubescent).
Viola macloskeyi reportedly hybridizes with V. primulifolia var. primulifolia (= V. ×mollicula House).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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