Viola douglasii
Douglas' violet, golden violet, Golden Violet
(c) Matt Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Matt Berger · licence
Family: Violaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Viola douglasii (Douglas' violet) is a native California herb in the Violaceae family, recognized by . Key features: 2-pinnate compound leaves, fern-like appearance, golden flowers.
Douglas' violet is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, northern Sierra Nevada, Tehama County, Central Valley, central western California, southern California Ranges, San Bernardino Mountains, and Peninsular Ranges in vernally moist flats and grassy slopes, often on serpentine, at elevations of 20 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from February to July, this plant produces light gold-yellow flowers with upper petals dark red-brown to nearly black and lower petals veined dark brown, with lateral petals bearing distinctive cylindric beard hairs. Growing with decumbent to erect stems 3 to 20 centimeters tall, clustered on a deep caudex and up to half subterranean. Its compound basal leaves have 3 to 5 leaflets divided into 3 to 5 narrow segments, each 1 to 2.5 millimeters wide, with densely ciliate edges. The fruit is round to oblong, 5 to 12 millimeters long and glabrous.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 34 sympatric species. Key features: 2-pinnate compound leaves, fern-like appearance, golden flowers
Habitat and range
Habitat: Vernally moist flats, grassy slopes, often on serpentine
Elevation: 20-2300 m
California counties: Mendocino, Butte, Lake, Placer, San Bernardino, San Diego, Glenn, San Benito, Colusa, Fresno, Siskiyou, Kern, Monterey, Los Angeles, Tuolumne, El Dorado, Madera, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Marin, San Joaquin, Calaveras, San Luis Obispo, Riverside, Tulare, Solano, Sutter, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Tehama, Nevada, Mariposa, Napa, Amador, Santa Barbara, Stanislaus, Trinity, Yolo, Inyo, Modoc, Yuba, Alpine
Outside California: Oregon, northern Baja California
Bloom period
Viola douglasii blooms Feb-Jul.
How to tell it apart
vs Asarum: Viola flowers sit above ground on stalks; Asarum flowers hide at ground level under heart-shaped leaves.; vs Cardamine: Viola has irregular flowers with a spur; Cardamine has 4-petaled symmetrical flowers.; vs Lycianthes: Viola flowers have a backward spur; Lycianthes has star-shaped flowers with no spur.; vs Pelargonium: Viola has a petal-derived spur; Pelargonium has a sepal-derived spur fused to the flower stalk.; vs Eschscholzia: Viola has 5 petals with one forming a spur; Eschscholzia has 4 separate fan-shaped petals.
Frequently asked questions
Is Viola douglasii native to California?
Yes. Viola douglasii is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Viola douglasii bloom?
Viola douglasii blooms Feb-Jul.
Where in California does Viola douglasii grow?
Viola douglasii occurs in Mendocino, Butte, Lake, Placer, San Bernardino, San Diego, Glenn, San Benito and other counties, at elevations of 20-2300 m.
What plant family does Viola douglasii belong to?
Viola douglasii is in the Violaceae family, genus Viola.
What habitat does Viola douglasii grow in?
Viola douglasii grows in Vernally moist flats, grassy slopes, often on serpentine.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.