[The Violet Family in the Columbia River
Gorge of Oregon and Washington]
Cut-leaf Violet, Fan Violet, Shelton's Violet
Viola sheltonii
Synonym: Viola biternata
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Cut-leaf violet as seen at left at Catherine Creek, Columbia
Gorge Scenic Area.......April 14, 2007. In the Columbia River Gorge, it is an early
bloomer, often blooming in early to mid April. The photo at right shows cut-leaf violets in bloom under oaks along the Weldon Wagon Trail, several miles east of Husum, WA.....May 4, 2022.
Characteristics:
Another attractive violet, both for its cleft leaves
and bright flowers, the cut-leaf violet is a perennial with smooth herbage and
flowering stems arising from 5-15 cm tall. The leaf blades are sometimes a blue-green,
often with purple on their lower surfaces. The leaf blades are deeply cleft
into 3 main lobes, each of which is further cleft into linear segments. The
leaf blade is generally 2-5 cm long.
The flowers are held above the leaves, with the
forward faces of the 5 petals bright yellow, with the lower 3 petals showing
purple penciling, and the backs of the upper two petals appearing brownish (See
photo below.).
Habitat:
Cut-leaf violet may be found in the partial shade
of oaks or ponderosa pines.
Range:
Cut-leaf violet may be found on the east side of
the Cascades from near Cle Elum, WA south to the Columbia River Gorge, and south
sporadically to Baja California.
In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found wholly
on the Washington side of the Columbia River where it may be found between the
elevations of 400'-2400' from east of Stevenson, WA to the Klickitat River.
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Cut-leaf violet as seen at Catherine Creek, Columbia
Gorge Scenic Area.......April 14, 2007.
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3 additional close-up views of the leaves and flowers of cut-leaf violet as seen amongst oak leaf litter at Catherine Creek, Columbia River Gorge.........April 9, 2009.
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Cut-leaf violet as seen at left at Catherine Creek, Columbia River Gorge..........April 7, 2012. The photo at right shows cut-leaf violet as seen at Catherine Creek, Columbia River Gorge..........April 19, 2017.
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Close-ups of the flowers of cut-leaf violet as seen just beginning to bloom amongst oak leaf litter at the Klickitat Wildlife Area along the eastern rim of Canyon Creek.........April 6, 2013.
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Cut-leaf violet as seen in oak leaf litter near the east rim of Canyon Creek, Klickitat Wildlife Area.........March 26, 2016.
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Cut-leaf violet as seen at left in oak leaf litter along the Weldon Wagon Road just east of Husum, WA......April 19, 2018. The photo at right shows emerging leaves of cut-leaf violet as seen in oak leaf litter at Catherine Creek, Columbia River Gorge...... February 25, 2022.
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Cutleaf violet as seen under the oaks at Catherine Creek (under the powerlines), Columbia River Gorge..........April 8, 2014.
Paul Slichter