A Tale of Two or Three Violets

While these three Violets are easily identified, the same can't be said for so many others, whether they are purple, white or yellow. I was able to recently identify the Western Dog Violet (V. adunca) only because of when and where they bloom: now, throughout the Pacific States.

Western Dog Violets look pretty much like your run-of-the-mill garden variety Violet. You have to be a little more attentive to detail when trying to identify them. Field markings include long erect stems, rounded, heart-shaped leaves, and lance-like bracts below the base of the petiole. These I found growing at Chimney Rock at Point Reyes National Seashore, California, with a variety of other wildflowers.

I read about Birds-foot and Long-spurred Violets long before I ever saw them because they are easy to identify, and it fueled my anticipation where finding them was concerned. Many others, such as Beckwith's Violet (V. beckwithii), Prairie Violet (V. pedatifida), Pine Violet (V. lobata), and Two-eyed Violet (V. ocellata) should be just as easy to identify. Now, if can just locate the darn things.

"A Tale of Two or Three Violets" © 2002 Gregg M. Pasterick - All Rights Reserved.

All Photographs © Gregg M. Pasterick - All Rights Reserved.

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