Linnaeus named the Viola genus in 1753.   "Viola" is Latin for "violet colored".

Montane, subalpine, alpine.  Woodlands, meadows.  Spring, summer.
Above: Wetland near Little Bear Trail, June 17, 2020 and June 26, 2015; Lower Calico Trail June 11, 2011.
Left: Lower Stoner Mesa Trail, May 26, 2004.

These very common, tiny, blue-to-purple, spurred violets are often hidden among grasses and taller plants, especially in Aspen forests of Colorado and Utah and to a lesser extent, New Mexico and Arizona. Leaves and flower stems branch from a main stem above ground (in contrast to V. nephrophylla shown below). 

Many Viola species commonly cover large areas with scores of flowering plants, and Viola adunca is no exception, as the photograph at the top of the page indicates. In 2015, late spring snows and rains turned meadows and woodlands blue with tens of thousands of large bouquets of Viola adunca.

Some species of Viola is almost always blooming in the Four Corners area during spring and summer.

James Edward Smith (1759-1828) named this species in 1817 from a specimen collected by Archibald Menzies along the west coast of North America in 1787-1788.  The plant has endured several dozen name changes.  "Adunca" is Latin for "hooked" and refers to the spur at the back of the flower.

Montane, subalpine, alpine.  Woodlands, meadows.  Spring, summer'
Navajo Lake Trail, June 25, 2005 and
Lizard Head Trail, July 2, 2004.

Flowers, leaves, and stems of western San Juan Viola plants that grow at 9,000 feet may be two to five times the size of those growing at 12,000 feet. The first photograph at left shows the lower elevation Viola adunca variety adunca. The second photograph shows a Viola with flowers only 1/3 the size of the flowers in the first photograph and, although many botanists still consider it Viola adunca variety adunca, some consider it a separate taxon, either Viola adunca variety bellidifolia, or Viola labradorica, or Viola bellidifolia.

On-going research by Fort Lewis College Professor Dr. Ross McCauley and Fort Lewis graduate, Benjamin Downing, indicates that the alpine plants differ enough to merit varietal status, but not species status. Professor McCauley states,

My reason for not recognizing at the level of species is due to it apparently having the ability to exchange genes and be interfertile with the typical variety [V. adunca var. adunca] and the presence of intermediate individuals at intermediate elevations.

Professor McCauley indicates that the two varieties can be separated as follows:

Plant 3-30 cm tall; basal leaf blades 1-5 cm long x 1-3.5 cm wide; occurring in forest understory and meadow edges from 7,000-10,000 feet..... V. adunca var. adunca

Dwarf plant 1.5-6 cm tall, appearing acaulescent; basal leaf blades 0.5-1.5 cm long x 4-15 mm wide; occurring above 10,000 ft in open edges of spruce forest and in open alpine regions..... V. adunca var. bellidifolia (Greene) H.D. Harrington

You can see that the smaller plant, growing on alpine tundra, has Viola adunca's characteristic spur but it is no bigger than a mouse's nose; the whole plant is a miniaturized work of art.

See below for more Viola adunca var. bellidifolia photographs.

Montane, subalpine, alpine.  Woodlands, meadows.  Spring, summer.
Navajo Lake Trail, June 25, 2005.

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows, tundra. Summer.
Foot of Hermosa Peak, July 28, 2023.

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows, tundra. Summer.
Ridge between Spiller and Helmet Peaks above Echo Basin Road, June 12, 2012.