Dog-toothed Violet

                                                       Versatile Naming

                                          Features lending naming clues,

                                                Which preferred by you?

My preference is from my childhood naming choice, that being a Dog-toothed Violet, this naming taken from the canine tooth shaped bulb in its root system.  I dug one up once and it was so!

Another name choice is Trout Lily , taking its name from the resemblance of the mottled or spotted leaves to that found on a Trout's back.

The third name I have today is Adder's Tongue, which I used to think was because of the beautiful magenta, tongue shaped stamens. Apparently not so but rather the shape of the emerging leaves from the ground resemble an Adder's Tongue... go figure.