Wildflowers of McLaren Park: Viola pedunculata

Last week, my friend and I were walking down a trail on a south facing slope of McLaren Park, and both of us asked each other, what's that?

Not the yellow of the oxalis that's popping up everywhere, nor the orange of the California poppies that are just starting, but instead, taxi-cab yellow dots caught our eyes.

Closer examination revealed yellow violets with brown whiskers, and rounded, rough foliage that hugs the ground. The flowers smell good, and each time I've gone back, there are more and more of them.

This is Viola pedunculata, a native wildflower that has escaded my notice until this spring. But now I can't get enough of it. Neither can the Calippe Silverspot butterfly, an endangered butterfly whose larvae eat only this single species.

Next fall, I hope to plant a few of these in my own back yard "meadow." I don't know if it is sunbaked enough to provide exactly what both the plant an the butterfly need, but at the very least, I'll have a little more gold in my garden.