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

New England blue violet, New England violet

Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–20 cm. Plants perennial, acaulescent, not stoloniferous, 5–50 cm; rhizomes thick, fleshy.
Stems

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

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, 2–8, ascending to erect;

stipules linear-lanceolate to broadly lanceolate, margins entire, sometimes distally glandular, apex acute;

petiole 5–25 cm, densely pubescent;

blade unlobed, narrowly ovate to narrowly deltate, 3.5–7 × 2–5 cm, base cordate, margins uniformly crenate to serrate, ciliate or eciliate, apex acute, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely pubescent.

Peduncles

2–12.5 cm, glabrous or puberulent.

3–25 cm, glabrous or pubescent.

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 to ovate, margins ciliate or eciliate, auricles 1–2 mm;

petals light to dark blue- or dark purple-violet or reddish purple, lowest and sometimes lateral 2 purple-veined, lateral 2 bearded, lowest bearded or beardless, 15–25 mm, spur same color as petals, gibbous, 2–3 mm;

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

Capsules

spherical to oblong, 5–12 mm, glabrous.

ellipsoid, 5–12 mm, glabrous.

Seeds

light brown, 2.8–3.3 mm.

beige, mottled to bronze, 1.5–2.5 mm.

2n

= 24, 48.

= 54.

Viola douglasii

Viola novae-angliae

Phenology Flowering Feb–Jul. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Vernally moist grassy slopes and flats, often serpentine soil (except Oregon) Gravelly, wet, rocky shores of lakes and streams, meadows
Elevation 20–2300 m (100–7500 ft) 0–100 m (0–300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
ME; MI; MN; WI; MB; NB; ON; QC
[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.)

L. E. McKinney (1992) considered Viola novae-angliae to be a variety of V. sororia; N. L. Gil-Ad (1997) treated it as a distinct species. H. E. Ballard and S. C. Gawler (1994) also considered V. novae-angliae distinct and suggested it might be a hybrid between V. sagittata and V. sororia. Viola novae-angliae appears to have a close affinity with V. sororia; we recognize them here as separate species.

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 129. FNA vol. 6, p. 139.
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. 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. 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
Synonyms V. chrysantha V. septentrionalis var. grisea, V. sororia var. grisea, V. sororia var. novae-angliae
Name authority Steudel: Nomencl. Bot. ed. 2, 2. 771. (1841) House: Rhodora 6: 226, plate 59. (1904)
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