Viola pedunculata
Johnny-jump-up, Johnny-Jump-Up
Photo by Chez Brungraber
Family: Violaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Viola pedunculata (Johnny-jump-up) is a native California herb in the Violaceae family, recognized by . Key features: open sunny habitat, very long flower stalks, no basal leaves.
Johnny-jump-up is a California native perennial herb found in northern coastal, central western, and southwestern California bioregions in open, grassy slopes, hillsides, chaparral, and oak woodland at elevations below 1,540 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces gold-yellow flowers with distinctive red-brown upper petals and dark brown veining, with lateral petals featuring club-shaped bearded hairs. Growing 5 to 39 centimeters tall with multiple decumbent to erect branched stems clustered on a shallow to deep caudex, it forms dense, spreading clumps. Its simple leaves range from 1 to 5.5 centimeters long and wide, with deltate to ovate blades that have crenate to serrate edges and vary from truncate to cordate bases. The fruit is an elliptic capsule 5 to 11 millimeters long, containing shiny dark brown seeds.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 27 sympatric species. Key features: open sunny habitat, very long flower stalks, no basal leaves
Habitat and range
Habitat: Open, grassy slopes, hillsides, chaparral, oak woodland, generally full sun
Elevation: < 1540 m
California counties: Trinity, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Tulare, Riverside, Santa Cruz, Solano, Monterey, San Benito, Marin, Ventura, Merced, San Francisco, Contra Costa, San Bernardino, Stanislaus, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Sonoma, Kern, Napa, Sacramento, Fresno, Plumas, Lake, Shasta, Yuba, Tehama
Outside California: northern Baja California
Bloom period
Viola pedunculata blooms Feb-Apr.
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 pedunculata native to California?
Yes. Viola pedunculata is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Viola pedunculata bloom?
Viola pedunculata blooms Feb-Apr.
Where in California does Viola pedunculata grow?
Viola pedunculata occurs in Trinity, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Tulare, Riverside and other counties, at elevations of < 1540 m.
What plant family does Viola pedunculata belong to?
Viola pedunculata is in the Violaceae family, genus Viola.
What habitat does Viola pedunculata grow in?
Viola pedunculata grows in Open, grassy slopes, hillsides, chaparral, oak woodland, generally full sun.
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.