Dog-Violet
Viola Canina, Var. Adunca, Gray. Violet Family
Stems.—Leafy; several from the rootstocks. Leaves.—Ovate; often somewhat cordate at base; acute or obtuse; six to eighteen lines long; obscurely crenate. Stipules foliaceous; narrowly lanceolate; lacerately toothed. Flowers.—Violet or purple; rather large. Lateral petals bearded. Spur as long as the sepals; rather slender; obtuse; hooked or curved. (Otherwise as V. pedunculata.) Hab.—The Coast Ranges, from San Francisco to Washington.
... “violets
Which yet join not scent to hue
Crown the pale year weak and new.”
Nestling amid the grasses on many a moist mesa by the sea, the modest flowers of the dog-violet may be found at almost any time of year. They vary greatly in the length of their stems, according to the season and the locality of growth.