Viola nephrophylla
Leconte violet
(c) Mark Pollock, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Mark Pollock · licence
Family: Violaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Viola nephrophylla (Leconte violet) is a native California herb in the Violaceae family, recognized by . Key features: stemless, large flowers, thick rhizomes, broad leaves.
Leconte violet is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern High Cascades, northern Sierra Nevada, southern California mountains, and Great Basin in shady, moist areas including lake margins and yellow-pine forests at elevations of 335 to 2,302 meters. Flowering from January to September, this plant produces deep blue-violet to white flowers with distinctive white and dark violet-veined lower petals, often featuring bearded lateral petals. Growing from thick, fleshy rhizomes with no visible stem, it reaches up to 50 centimeters tall with ascending to erect basal leaves. Its leaves are broadly ovate to kidney-shaped, 1 to 7 centimeters wide, with crenate or serrate edges and a heart-shaped base, carried on petioles 5 to 25 centimeters long. The fruit is an ellipsoid capsule 5 to 12 millimeters long, containing beige to bronze-mottled seeds.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 33 sympatric species. Key features: stemless, large flowers, thick rhizomes, broad leaves
Habitat and range
Habitat: Shady areas in moist or swampy ground, lake margins, yellow-pine forest
Elevation: 335-2302 m
California counties: San Diego, Mariposa, Placer, Los Angeles, Mono, Riverside, San Bernardino, Inyo, Alpine, Plumas, Humboldt, Shasta, Lassen, Siskiyou, Tuolumne, Santa Clara
Outside California: to British Columbia eastern to Nova Scotia, to eastern United States
Bloom period
Viola nephrophylla blooms Jan-Sep.
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 nephrophylla native to California?
Yes. Viola nephrophylla is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Viola nephrophylla bloom?
Viola nephrophylla blooms Jan-Sep.
Where in California does Viola nephrophylla grow?
Viola nephrophylla occurs in San Diego, Mariposa, Placer, Los Angeles, Mono, Riverside, San Bernardino, Inyo and other counties, at elevations of 335-2302 m.
What plant family does Viola nephrophylla belong to?
Viola nephrophylla is in the Violaceae family, genus Viola.
What habitat does Viola nephrophylla grow in?
Viola nephrophylla grows in Shady areas in moist or swampy ground, lake margins, yellow-pine forest.
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.