Day 156: There I was, down on my hands and knees in the wet moss and mud, magnifier in hand, imagining Pack Forest ticks marching up my pantlegs, and my hike had just begun. Violas are tricky little buggers when it comes to their identities, and I still get them wrong more often than I care to admit. Leaf shape is helpful, although there is a lot of variation. Veining is great if they show it, but if it is absent in a young specimen, you have to consider that it may develop later. Likewise, the presence of a spur on the back of the flower can be conclusive, but its absence leaves room for doubt. In my experience (such as it is), the most reliable field characteristic is bearding. Like irises, some violets have beards (tiny ones) on their petals. That's why I was carrying the magnifier. That's why I was down on my knees, getting soppy wet and paranoid about ticks. When I found little fuzzy-wuzzy beards on the two side petals (barely visible in this photo), I said to myself, "Glabella. I'm 90% sure it's glabella." But I reserve the right to be wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment