About Viola langsdorffii Fisch. ex DC.
Viola langsdorffii Fisch. ex DC. is a species in the Viola genus, commonly known as Alaskan violet and Aleutian violet. This plant grows from rather stout creeping rootstocks, and is entirely glabrous. Its ascending stems reach 5 to 30 centimeters in length. The leaves of V. langsdorffii are long-petioled, round-cordate, crenate, and 2.5 to 4 centimeters wide. Its stipules are leaf-like, lanceolate, with lower stipules usually being incised. The flowers are pale violet, with petals 12 to 16 millimeters long. The three lower petals are white at their base, the lateral pair of petals is bearded. The flower spur is very short and stout, equal in width and length; the head of the style is not bearded. Specimens collected from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands are more robust than those growing further south within the species' range, with petals reaching up to 20 millimeters long. Viola langsdorffii occurs near the coast from the Aleutian Islands to central Oregon, extending inland to Marion County, Oregon, within the Boreal and Humid Transition Zones. It typically grows in moist locations at low to high elevations, and its native habitats include bogs, moist meadows, stream banks, and snow beds.
