Viola tripartita

Common Names

Threepart Violet, Three-Parted Yellow Violet

Summary

Viola tripartita Elliott, commonly known as the Threepart Violet, is a perennial herb native to Eastern North America, especially the Southern Appalachian Mountains. It grows as an erect, rhizomatous plant on moist slopes and bottomlands, often over mafic or calcareous rocks, and reaches about 5 to 15 inches tall. Distinctive features include leaves deeply divided into three segments and wider than long with a cuneate base, and yellow flowers that bloom in spring; flowers are bilaterally symmetric with five petals, the three lowest petals veined with purplish-brown and the two lateral petals bearded, followed by a capsule fruit. In cultivation, it prefers rich, mesic forests on moist slopes and bottomlands, typically over calcareous or mafic rock substrates. Its rhizomatous habit aids persistence, and reproduction includes chasmogamous flowers from March to June and chasmogamous fruits from April to July, with cleistogamous structures contributing to self-pollination. Regional status ranges from protected in parts of the range to rare and subject to conservation concerns, reflecting its specialized habitat and distribution.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

5-15 inches

Soil Type

Moist, rich, mesic soils over calcareous rocks

Bloom Color

Yellow

Bloom Time

Spring

Leaf Lifecycle

Other

Seasons of Interest

Spring and Summer