Quote of the Week, Perhaps a Bit Longer

"The biological community is a vast and complicated system for sharing and distributing the energy of the sun among a diversity of life forms." ~Martson Bates

3/8/12

Great Basin Voilet

Great Basin Violet (Viola beckwitii)

The Great Basin Violet (Viola beckwithii), is a perennial dicot native to the basin and range region.  It tends to live in sagebrush scrub, pinyon-juniper and yellow pine communities.  Their growing season is form March through July and they tend to be among the first of the wildflowers I see each season.

Violas are gorgeous little plants.  They have bright, cheery flowers that are bilaterally symmetrical--meaning they have a balanced distribution of duplicate parts along a plane.  The flowers are two-tone with the upper two petals having a dark purple/maroon color and the lower three petals having light purple/white color with violet veins and yellow bases.  The flowers perch atop leafless stalks growing from a low tuft of basal leaves.  The gray/green leaves are deeply divided and somewhat fan shaped.  And, since they appear early in the season, they are a lovely sight for eyes longing to see the bright colors of spring.  I haven't seen one yet, but I know they'll soon be here, I can't wait!

The Great Basin Violet is also know as Beckwith's Violet.

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