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Native Plant Propagation Guidelines:
forbs

Viola adunca (early blue violet)

Category: 
forbs

photo by Dave Polster

Perennial from short to long, slender rhizomes. Usually stemless in the early part of the season, later developing aerial stems up to 10 cm tall. Starts to flower early in the growing season. Leaves generally oval to heart-shaped, hairy to hairless, blades to 3 cm long with fine round-toothed margins. Stipules reddish-brown or with reddish-brown flecks, narrowly lance-shaped margins slender-toothed or somewhat ragged. Flowers to 1.5 cm long, with a slender spur half as long as the lowest petal, petals blue to deep violet, the lower three often white at base and purple-pencilled, and the lateral pair white-bearded. Fruits small capsules opening explosively by three valves (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994). Photo by Dave Polster. 

Scientific Name: 

Viola adunca J.E. Smith var. adunca (V. adunca var. bellidifolia [Greene] Harrington, V. bellidifolia Greene)

Family: 
Violaceae
English Name: 
early blue violet

Geographical Range and Habitat Requirements

Ecological Setting: 

Dry to moist meadows, open woods, grasslands and open, disturbed ground from lowlands to near timberline (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).

Soil Texture: 

Medium textured soils.

Nutrients: 

Nitrogen-medium soils (Klinka et al., 1995).

Soil Reaction and Salinity: 

Moderately acidic to mildly alkaline.

Moisture Regime: 

Very dry to moderately dry (Klinka et al., 1995).

Shade Tolerance: 

Shade intolerant to mildly shade tolerant (Klinka et al., 1995).

Successional Status: 

Climax in meadows and open woodlands. Seral species on moister disturbed ground.

BEC Zone and GOE Community Status: 

Open woodlands and meadows within Garry oak ecosystems.

Uses

Site Rehabilitation: 

Probably not a practical candidate species.

Wildlife: 

Key food species for the larvae of the Silverspot butterfly.

Landscaping: 

Native violets "can produce the right substitute with a restrained beauty" to exotics such as pansies. Viola adunca grows in such a range of habitats that many natural variants occur. "This is an easy, dependable and lovely plant for rather dry, open woods or lower reaches of the rockery in sun or partial shade" (Krukeberg, 1996).

First Nations: 
n/a
Other Uses: 

Leaves and flowers can be eaten raw in salads, used as potherbs or made into tea. Flowers and leaves have long been used in various herbal remedies such as poultices, a relief for coughs, colds and lung congestion, and as a laxative (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).

Seed Propagation

Flowering Time: 

Early summer

Fruit Ripening Time: 

Mid-summer

Seed Collection Time: 

Mid-summer

Crop Intervals: 

Annual

Number of Seeds per Kilogram: 
n/a
Seed Viability: 
n/a
Fruit and Seed Collection and Extraction: 

Seed capsules open explosively to disperse seed so "bagging" is recommended to avoid seed loss.

Seed Storage: 
n/a
Fruit/Seed Dormancy and Treatment: 

Sow seed in early spring into flats or a cold frame and cover lightly. Germination of other violet species occurs in 10-20 days at 18-22º C (Bryant, 1995). Prick the seedlings out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant out in late summer.

Vegetative Propagation

Method Success Rate Time of Collection
Softwood cuttings  Good Success rate for other violet species from stem and leaf cuttings (Bryant, 1995)  Summer to early fall
Semi-hardwood cuttings  N/A  N/A
Hardwood cuttings  N/A  N/A
Root cuttings  Moderate  Autumn
Suckers  N/A  N/A
Plant division  Moderate to good  Autumn

 

Outplanting Characteristics and Requirements

Larger divisions can be replanted immediately. Smaller divisions should be potted-up and held under light shade until they are large enough to plant out the following spring.

Seed and Cutting Propagation Techniques

n/a

Additional Information and Photos

For more information and pictures, visit the E-Flora BC website at www.eflora.bc.ca.www.eflora.bc.ca