Viola tomentosa
Viola guadalupensis
felt-leaf violet, woolly or felt-leaf or feltleaf violet, woolly violet
Guadalupe Mountains violet, Guadalupe violet
1–3(–5), prostrate or decumbent to erect, leafy proximally and distally, densely white-tomentose, from usually vertical, subligneous rhizome.
1–5, decumbent to erect, leafy proximally and distally, glabrous, on caudex from fleshy rhizome.
basal and cauline;
basal: 1–6;
stipules linear to broadly ovate-oblong, margins entire, sometimes with scattered glandular hairs, apex acute to obtuse;
petiole 2–6 cm, densely white-tomentose;
blade ± oblanceolate to elliptic, 1.5–5 × 1.4–2.1 cm, base attenuate, usually oblique, margins usually entire, rarely crenate distally, ciliate, apex acute to usually obtuse, mucronulate, surfaces densely white-tomentose abaxially, strigose adaxially;
cauline similar to basal except: stipules ovate, lanceolate, oblanceolate, or oblong, margins entire or toothed, densely ciliate with white hairs;
petiole 1.5–3.5 cm;
blade 1.8–4 × 0.6–1.1 cm.
cauline;
stipules lanceolate to ovate- or oblong-lanceolate or linear, margins sparingly glandular-fimbriate, apex acute;
petiole 2–6 cm, glabrous;
blade ovate to ovate-deltate or ovate-lanceolate, 1.2–2.4 × 0.7–1.3 cm, base broadly cuneate to rounded or truncate, margins entire or with 1–3 crenations on proximal 1/2, eciliate, apex acute to rounded, surfaces glabrous, sometimes with a few short hairs on veins abaxially.
1–4 cm, densely white-tomentose.
3.5–6 cm, glabrous.
sepals lanceolate, margins ciliate-tomentose, 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 bearded, lowest 6–11 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 0.5–1.5 mm;
style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers absent.
sepals linear to linear-lanceolate, margins eciliate, auricles 0.5–1.5 mm;
petals deep lemon-yellow adaxially, upper 2 reddish brown abaxially, lateral 2 and lowest dark brown-veined basally, lateral 2 bearded, lowest 7–11 mm, spur yellow, gibbous, 1–1.4 mm;
style head bearded; cleistogamous flowers absent.
± spherical, 4–5 mm, densely white-tomentose.
ovoid, 3–4.5 mm, glabrous.
brown with lighter brown mottling, 2.5–2.8 mm.
light brown, ± 2 mm.
= 12.
= 24.
Viola tomentosa
Viola guadalupensis
Viola tomentosa occurs in El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, and Sierra counties. M. S. Baker (1949) reported that nearly every leaf axil of V. tomentosa produces a flower bud and that these buds produce chasmogamous flowers late in season instead of cleistogamous flowers, as do other members of the V. nuttallii complex.
Viola tomentosa hybridizes with V. purpurea; the hybrids appeared sterile (M. S. Baker 1949). J. Clausen (1964) reported a putative hybrid between V. tomentosa and V. sheltonii from one location in Sierra County.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Of conservation concern.
Viola guadalupensis is known only from the eastern rim of the Guadalupe Mountains in Culberson County. Powell and Wauer noted that it is the only yellow-flowered violet known in the Guadalupe Mountains and appears to be related to V. nuttallii and V. vallicola. K. W. Allred (2008) stated that a report of this species in New Mexico by J. T. Kartesz and C. A. Meacham (1999) requires verification. K. Haskins (pers. comm.) reported that experiments are currently being conducted to propagate plants of V. guadalupensis via cell tissue culture.
Chloroplast (trnL-F spacer) and low-copy nuclear gene (GPI) phylogenies indicate that Viola guadalupensis is an alloploid that originated through hybridization between an unidentified member of subsect. Canadenses (the paternal parent) and a member of the V. nuttallii complex
(the maternal parent), of sect. Chamaemelanium (T. Marcussen et al. 2011). Evidence reported by these authors from a fossil-calibrated relaxed clock dating analysis showed the estimated maximum age of V. guadalupensis to be (5.7–)8.6(–11.6) million years.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
