''Viola ocellata'' is a species of

violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Vi ...

known by the common names pinto violet, two-eyed violet, and western heart's ease. It is native to southern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and northern and central California, where it occurs in the coastal foothills and mountain ranges. It sometimes grows in

serpentine soil Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially an ...

s and in quicksilver mines.

Description

This

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

herb produces a hairy erect or decumbent stem measuring long. The leaves have heart-shaped or roughly lance-shaped blades borne on petioles a few centimeters long. A solitary flower is borne on a long, upright stem. It has five white petals with yellow bases, the lowest three veined with purple and the two lateral ones with purple eyespots. The inside of the flower has long hairs. The outer surfaces, at least of the two upper petals, is usually stained dark red or purple. It capsules are spherical and are long while its peduncles are puberulent and are long. The seeds of the plant are brownish-purple in colour and are long. The

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to ...

s are often long and

stolon In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...

-like.

Ecology

The species is a host plant of the butterfly ''

Boloria epithore ''Boloria epithore'', the Pacific fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in western North America from California to British Columbia and Alberta. The wingspan is . The butterfly flies from June to July. The larvae fe ...

''.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment

Photo gallery
ocellata Flora of California Flora of Oregon Taxa named by Asa Gray Taxa named by John Torrey {{Violaceae-stub