Viola palustris

Alpine marsh violet, Alpine Marsh Violet

Family: Violaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Alpine marsh violet is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native perennial found in northern coastal California in marshes, swamps, and streambanks at elevations below 75 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces lilac, pale blue, or nearly white flowers with purple-veined lower petals, featuring distinctive bearded lateral petals with cylindric hairs. Growing to 19 centimeters tall from thin rhizomes that spread by summer stolons, it forms a delicate ground-hugging herb. Its simple basal leaves are reniform to ovate, 0.5 to 6.4 centimeters wide, with a heart-shaped base and finely crenate edges, emerging on slender petioles up to 17 centimeters long. The plant produces small elliptic fruits 6 to 10 millimeters long, containing brown seeds.

Habitat: Marshes, swamps, streambanks, often beneath shrubs

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: < 75 m

Bioregions: NCo

California counties: Humboldt, Mendocino, Del Norte, Sonoma, Shasta, Siskiyou

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.