[Violets: The Genus Viola West of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]
Wood Violet, Pioneer Violet, Stream Violet, Streambank Violet
Viola glabella
Stream violets in bloom surrounded by pacific waterleaf (Hydrophyllum tenuipes) in the webmaster's woodland garden in Gresham, OR.......March 27, 2017.
Characteristics:
The stream violet is an attractive perennial wildflower which should be easily
available in the nursery trade. It has erect or ascending stems arising 5-30
cm high which are leafless except on the upper one-third of the stem. The herbage
of the leaves and stems is smooth, or the leaves sometimes minutely hairy. The
basal leaves are broadly heart-shaped with rounded teeth on the leaf edges and
with the petioles, are 10-20 cm long. The base of the leaf blade is definitely
notched, while the tip is pointed.
The yellow flowers have 5 petals, the lower
3 of which are purple-veined. The individual flowers are 8-14 mm long.
Habitat:
Stream violet may be found along streams or in moist-shady woods.
Range:
Stream violet may be found from Alaska south through the Pacific Northwest
to the coastal mountains and the Sierra Nevada of California, and east to Montana.
It may also be found in northeastern Asia.
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Stream violet as seen in Gresham, OR.........May 5, 2009.
Stream violet as seen in woods near Bigelow Lakes, Siskiyou National Forest..........July 14, 2012.
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A mass of stream violet as seen at left at Saddle Mountain State Park in the Coast Range of northwestern Oregon........May 21, 2009. The photo at right shows stream violet blooming in the webmaster's woodland garden in Gresham, OR.......March 28, 2018.
Stream violet beginning to bloom at Lewisville Regional Park (Clark County Parks) several miles north of Battle Ground, WA......April 8, 2021.
Paul Slichter