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

goosefoot violet, mountain violet, pine violet, purple-mark yellow violet

Habit Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 3–20 cm. Plants perennial, caulescent, not stoloniferous, 1.5–25 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(–7), decumbent or spreading to erect, leafy proximally and distally, ± glabrous, puberulent, canescent, or tomentose, 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: 1–6;

stipules adnate to petiole, forming 2 linear, membranous wings, wing margins entire or laciniate, each wing with lanceolate to ± deltate projection, margins entire or laciniate, apex acute to long-acuminate;

petiole 1.8–14.5 cm, puberulent to tomentose;

blade purplish, purple-tinted, or gray-green abaxially, gray, green, or gray-green adaxially, sometimes shiny adaxially, ovate, orbiculate, oblong, deltate, or lanceolate, 0.8–5.3 × 0.4–4.1 cm, often fleshy, base cordate, subcordate, truncate, or attenuate, oblique or not, margins usually ± crenate, serrate, dentate, or coarsely or irregularly repand-dentate, sometimes entire, usually ciliate, apex acute to obtuse or rounded, surfaces glabrous, puberulent, or tomentose;

cauline similar to basal except: stipules linear, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or ± oblong to ovate, margins entire, lacerate, or laciniate, usually ciliate, apex sometimes divided into 2–3 filiform processes or obtuse;

petiole 0.3–19.7 cm, glabrous or puberulent;

blade ovate, oblong, elliptic, deltate, or lanceolate, 0.9–5.2 × 0.2–2.9 cm, length 0.8–7.1 times width, margins crenate, serrate, dentate, repand-denticulate, undulate-denticulate, sinuate, undulate, or entire, abaxial surface puberulent, canescent, or tomentose, adaxial surface glabrous, sparsely pubescent, puberulent, canescent, or tomentose.

Peduncles

2–12.5 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.

Capsules

spherical to oblong, 5–12 mm, glabrous.

ovoid to ± spherical, 4–7 mm, puberulent.

Seeds

light brown, 2.8–3.3 mm.

light to dark brown or mottled gray and brown, 2–3.1 mm.

2n

= 24, 48.

= 12.

Viola douglasii

Viola purpurea

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
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC; nw Mexico
[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 7 (7 in the flora).

Varieties of Viola purpurea are variable and intergrade. All are found in California; six occur in other western states, one in Mexico, and one in British Columbia. Mature plants are needed for determination.

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

Key
1. Basal and cauline leaf blade surfaces tomentose
var. aurea
1. Basal and cauline leaf blade surfaces ± glabrous, canescent, or puberulent
→ 2
2. Stems mostly buried, not much elongated by end of season; plants 1.5–9(–12) cm
→ 3
2. Stems usually not buried, usually elongated by end of season; plants 3–25 cm
→ 4
3. Cauline leaf margins usually entire, sometimes sinuate; basal leaf margins ± crenate to irregularly repand-dentate or entire.
var. integrifolia
3. Cauline leaf margins usually coarsely crenate or dentate, sometimes ± serrate or ± entire; basal leaf margins coarse-serrate or irregularly dentate or crenate with 2–4 rounded teeth per side
var. venosa
4. Basal leaf base cordate or truncate
var. dimorpha
4. Basal leaf base usually attenuate, sometimes subcordate or truncate
→ 5
5. Cauline leaf blade length 3.2–7.1 times width, margins usually undulate-denticulate, sometimes entire
var. mesophyta
5. Cauline leaf blade length 1–3 times width, margins with 3–4(–5) pointed or rounded teeth per side or crenate-serrate
→ 6
6. Basal leaf blade margins irregularly crenate, without pointed or rounded teeth; adaxial surface often shiny.
var. purpurea
6. Basal leaf blade margins dentate-serrate with 4–5(–6) pointed or rounded teeth per side; adaxial surface not shiny.
var. mohavensis
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 129. FNA vol. 6, p. 150.
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. 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. 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. purpurea var. aurea, V. purpurea var. dimorpha, V. purpurea var. integrifolia, V. purpurea var. mesophyta, V. purpurea var. mohavensis, V. purpurea var. purpurea, V. purpurea var. venosa
Synonyms V. chrysantha
Name authority Steudel: Nomencl. Bot. ed. 2, 2. 771. (1841) Kellogg: Pacific (San Francisco), 2 Feb. 1855: unnumb. (1855)
Web links