Viola adunca

File:Viola_adunca_1123.JPG

This is a hairy, compact plant growing from a small rhizome system. The leaves are spade- or heart-shaped, sometimes with broadly wavy margins. They are generally 0.5 to 4 centimeters long.{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Ronald J.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25708726|title=Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary|publisher=Mountain Press Pub. Co|year=1994|isbn=0-87842-280-3|edition=rev.|location=Missoula, MT|pages=168|language=en|oclc=25708726|orig-year=1992}} The single-flowered inflorescence grows at the end of a very thin peduncle reaching about {{Convert|7.5|cm|sp=us|frac=4|abbr=on}} high. The nodding flower is a violet about {{Convert|1.5|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long, with five purple petals. The lower three petals have white bases and purple veining. The two side petals are white-bearded near the throat. The upper two petals may have hooked spurs at their tips.{{cite web | url= http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Viola%20adunca | editor-last= Klinkenberg | editor-first= Brian | date= 2014 | title= Viola adunca | website= E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. | publisher= Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver | access-date= 2015-04-23}}{{cite web | url= http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Viola&Species=adunca | editor-last= Giblin | editor-first= David | date= 2015 | title= Viola adunca | website= WTU Herbarium Image Collection | publisher= Burke Museum, University of Washington | access-date= 2015-04-23}}{{cite web | url= http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?7799,7800,7801 | date= 1993 | title= Viola adunca | website= Jepson Flora Project: Jepson Interchange | publisher= Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley | access-date= 2015-04-23}} It is a perennial{{Cite web|url=https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_viad.pdf|title=USDA Plants Database|website=Plants.usda.gov|access-date=29 March 2022}} blooming in late spring.

There are several varieties of V. adunca; a white-petaled form has been noted in Yosemite National Park.

It has also been observed in Southern Ontario in tall grass prairies on the sand plain and in black oak savannas.

Viola adunca is the larval host plant of Myrtle's silverspot. Bees and other insects pollinate it. Polites mardon uses it as a nectar source, and birds and mice use the seed as a food source.{{Cite web|url=http://web.sonoma.edu/cei/prairie/ecology/concepts.shtml|title = Center for Environmental Inquiry at Sonoma State University}}

The species is listed as endangered in Massachusetts and in Connecticut.[http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/ets15.pdf "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015"]. State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2 January 2017. (Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)

The leaves and flowers are edible, and can be eaten in salads, as potherbs, or brewed as tea. These plant parts are high in vitamins A and C. However, the rhizomes, fruit, and seeds are poisonous to humans and can cause upset stomach, intestinal problems, respiratory and circulatory depression.

The Blackfoot apply an infusion of the roots and leaves to sore and swollen joints,Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 79 give an infusion of the leaves and roots to asthmatic children,Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 74 and use the plant to dye their arrows blue.Hellson, John C., 1974, Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 123 The Dakelh take a decoction of the entire plant for stomach pain,Smith, Harlan I., 1929, Materia Medica of the Bella Coola and Neighboring Tribes of British Columbia, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 56:47-68, page 60 the Klallam apply a poultice of smashed flowers to the chest or side for pain,Gunther, Erna, 1973, Ethnobotany of Western Washington, Seattle. University of Washington Press. Revised edition, page 40 the Makah chew the roots and leaves while giving birth, and the Tolowa apply a poultice of chewed leaves to sore eyes.Baker, Marc A., 1981, The Ethnobotany of the Yurok, Tolowa and Karok Indians of Northwest California, Humboldt State University, M.A. Thesis, page 62

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adunca

Category:Flora of California

Category:Flora of Michigan

Category:Flora of the United States

Category:Flora of Canada

Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine

Category:Edible plants