Canary Violet, Upland Yellow Violet, Yellow Montane Violet: Viola praemorsa ssp. praemorsa (Synonyms: Viola nuttallii ssp. praemorsa, Viola nuttallii var. praemorsa)

[The Violet Family in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]

Canary Violet, Upland Yellow Violet, Yellow Montane Violet

Viola praemorsa ssp. praemorsa

Synonyms: Viola nuttallii ssp. praemorsa, Viola nuttallii var. praemorsa

Flower of Canary Violet, Upland Yellow Violet ?: Viola praemorsa ssp. praemorsa (Synonyms: Viola nuttallii ssp. praemorsa, Viola nuttallii var. praemorsa)

The photo above shows a close-up of the flower of canary violet as seen high in the Columbia Hills at the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge................May 1, 2005. The backs of the upper 4 petals appears to be solid yellow as seen in other photos of this flower.

Basal leaf of Canary Violet, Upland Yellow Violet ?: Viola praemorsa ssp. praemorsa (Synonyms: Viola nuttallii ssp. praemorsa, Viola nuttallii var. praemorsa)

The photo at right shows the wide leaf blade of canary violet from the crest of the Columbia Hills, north of Dallesport, WA........May 14, 2006. A closeup of the leaf is seen further below.

Characteristics:

*****This is one that I will need to check in the field this spring as I am unsure of the variety.

Yellow prairie violet is an attractive dryland violet with clumps of green leaves and several bright yellow flowers found on stems (to 15 cm high) that are about equal in height to the leaves. The leaf blades range from smooth to copiously covered with minute hairs, the blades narrowly elliptic lanceolate to ovate or lanceolate, depending on the variety. The margins are entire or wavy-margined, or occasionally lightly toothed. The blades range from 2-10 cm in length, while the long thin petioles range from 3-15 cm long.

The flowers are bright yellow, from 5-15 mm long with a short spur. The upper 2 petals may be clear yellow on the back (as in variety bakeri) or may have brownish backs (as in the other varieties). The lower 3 petals are penciled with brownish-purple lines in the throat.

Corolla and caylx of Canary Violet, Upland Yellow Violet ?: Viola praemorsa ssp. praemorsa (Synonyms: Viola nuttallii ssp. praemorsa, Viola nuttallii var. praemorsa)

A close-up sideview of the flower of yellow prairie violet as seen from the crest of the Columbia Hills....................May 14, 2006. Note that the backs of the upper petals are yellow rather than rusty colored.

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Closeups of the upper (l) and lower (r) leaf surfaces of a leaf from the plant seen in the photograph above. The breadth of the leaf is fairly typical of those usually seen in the gorge. Note that the petioles and leaf margins have some spreading hairs although the upper surface tends to be mostly glabrous.

Habitat:

Yellow prairie violet may be found in open grasslands, among sagebrush, or in open ponderosa pine or oak forests.

Range:

Yellow prairie violet is found east of the coastal mountains from British Columbia south to California and east to the central United States.

In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found from near Dog Mt east to the Columbia Hills and may be found between the elevations of 400'-3900'.

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Additional close-ups of upland yellow violet as seen in grasslands beneath open oak woodlands high in the Labyrinth, mid-Columbia River Gorge.................April 15, 2010.

Flower of Canary Violet, Upland Yellow Violet ?: Viola praemorsa ssp. praemorsa (Synonyms: Viola nuttallii ssp. praemorsa, Viola nuttallii var. praemorsa)

A close-up of the corolla (with visiting minute beetles, in the act of mating) as seen at the crest of the Columbia Hills..................May 14, 2006.

Paul Slichter