Viola glabella
Stream violet, smooth yellow violet, Smooth Yellow Violet
(c) Gavin Slater, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Gavin Slater · licence
Family: Violaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Viola glabella (Stream violet) is a native California herb in the Violaceae family, recognized by . Key features: erect leafy stems, no basal leaves, moist forest habitat.
Stream violet is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, central western California, and Warner Mountains in moist to wet generally shady forest and streambank habitats at elevations below 2,600 meters. Flowering from March to August, this plant produces deep lemon-yellow flowers with deep purple veining, the lateral petals featuring distinctive cylindric beard hairs. Growing 3 to 38 centimeters tall with erect green stems emerging from a thick, shallow horizontal rhizome, it develops multiple stems that are glabrous or finely puberulent. Its leaves are thin and variable, with basal leaves 3.3 to 8.5 centimeters wide, ovate to round, having a heart-shaped base and crenate to serrate edges. The fruit develops as an ovate to elliptic capsule 7 to 13 millimeters long, containing shiny pale brown seeds.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 33 sympatric species. Key features: erect leafy stems, no basal leaves, moist forest habitat
Habitat and range
Habitat: Moist to wet generally shady places in forest, streambanks, etc
Elevation: < 2600 m
California counties: Trinity, Plumas, Tulare, Humboldt, San Mateo, Siskiyou, Mendocino, Santa Cruz, Lake, Kern, Tuolumne, Marin, Madera, El Dorado, Sonoma, Del Norte, Placer, Butte, Shasta, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Fresno, Santa Clara, Modoc, Amador, Glenn, Mariposa, Alameda, Alpine, Tehama, Lassen, Nevada, Napa, Contra Costa, Calaveras, Colusa
Outside California: to Alaska, Montana, Asia
Bloom period
Viola glabella blooms Mar-Aug.
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 glabella native to California?
Yes. Viola glabella is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Viola glabella bloom?
Viola glabella blooms Mar-Aug.
Where in California does Viola glabella grow?
Viola glabella occurs in Trinity, Plumas, Tulare, Humboldt, San Mateo, Siskiyou, Mendocino, Santa Cruz and other counties, at elevations of < 2600 m.
What plant family does Viola glabella belong to?
Viola glabella is in the Violaceae family, genus Viola.
What habitat does Viola glabella grow in?
Viola glabella grows in Moist to wet generally shady places in forest, streambanks, etc.
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.