Viola charlestonensis

Plant: perennial herb; to 10 cm tall. STEMS branched, clustered on a deep taproot, mostly short, usually partly buried and barely extending above surface of leaf litter, gray puberulent Leaves: simple, basal and cauline, entire, the lower surfaces purplish; basal leaves 1-5, the petioles 40-60 mm long, the blades 10-25 mm long, 11-23 mm wide, rounded, broadly ovate, often succulent, the bases truncate or slightly cuneate, the upper surface puberulent with whitish veins, the lower puberulent; cauline blades narrower than basal, ovate, puberulent, the base cuneate INFLORESCENCE: axillary; pedicels 1.5-2.5 cm long Flowers: sepals to 4 mm long; petals yellow on face, the lower 3 brown- to purple-veined, faintly darkened on back, the upper 2 usually brownish-purple on back, the lateral 2 bearded, the lowest petal (including spur) 8-11 mm long, the spur short, covered with hairs Fruit: FRUITS 8 mm long, densely puberulent; SEEDS ca. 15-20, usually ovoid, with a prominent caruncle Misc: Partial shade of shrubs in juniper and ponderosa pine woodlands; limestone soils; 1500-2900 m (5000-9500 ft); Jun-Jul REFERENCES: Little, R. John. 2001. Violaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 33(1).