Viola adunca, May 28, 2022
V. adunca var. bellidifolia, with moth, Blue Lake Trail, 11,700’ June 17, 2022
Common & scientific name
Blue violet, Viola adunca & V. adunca var. bellidifolia
Family
Violet, Violaceae
Location
Twin Lakes, 9,250’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
As lovely as violets are, they do not rely on pollinators as their primary means of reproduction. Rather, certain of a violet plant’s flowers don’t develop pollinator-attracting attributes, never open, and stay underground or emerge only after their seeds mature into fruits. Such self-fertilizing flowers are “cleistogamous.
V. adunca var. bellidifolia, beaver ponds below summit, 11,300’, June 12, 2022