Smooth yellow violet

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Smooth yellow violet

Smooth yellow violet flower

Smooth yellow violet

Smooth yellow violet fruit

Smooth yellow violet

Smooth yellow violet

Smooth yellow violet sepals

Smooth yellow violet leaves

Morphology

Stem

Erect or decumbent, 1-several, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; stipules, prominent, leafless, on lower 1/2.

Leaves

Basal leaves 0-5, long stalked, kidney-shaped to broadly egg-shaped; stem leaves 2-4, broadly heart- to egg-shaped, 1.5 to 4 inches long, up to 1/2 inch wider than long, pubescent to glabrous; margins shallow- or sharp-toothed; tips short-pointed; stalks shorter to longer than leaves, softly-hairy to glabrous; stipules broadly egg-shaped to lanceolate, 2/5 to 3/5 inch long.

Inflorescence

Solitary flowers in leaf axils; stalks shorter to longer than leaves, pubescent to glabrous.

Flower

Sepals 5, 1/4 to 2/5 inch long, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, tips blunt or pointed, margins white, pubescent to glabrous; petals 5, 3/10 to 1/2 inch long, yellow; lower 3 with brownish-purple veins near bases; lateral 2 bearded; lowermost petal swollen on 1 side; stamens 5; small, closed, self-pollinating flowers also occur in upper axils.

Fruit

Capsules, oblong-ovoid, 3/10 to 3/4 inch long, dark green to yellowish-green, conspicuously woolly to sparsely pubescent or glabrous; seeds numerous, tan to brown.

Ecology

Habitat

Low woodlands, thickets, and along stream banks; rarely in the open.

Distribution

East 1/3 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans used an infusion made from yellow violet to treat coughs, colds, and dysentery; a poultice of leaves for headaches; and soaked corn seeds in an infusion of the roots prior to planting to ward off insects.

Additional Notes