Viola purpurea subsp. mohavensis

Family: Violaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Mojave yellow violet is a California native perennial found in the Tehachapi, Peninsular, eastern Sierra Nevada, and Desert Mountains regions in desert scrub, sagebrush, and dry yellow-pine forest areas at elevations of 900 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces yellow flowers 10 to 14 millimeters long with distinctive purple-tinted petals. Growing 5 to 24 centimeters tall with spreading to erect stems that elongate through the growing season, it develops both basal and cauline leaves. Its leaves are distinctively gray-green to purple-tinted, with 4 to 5 prominent pointed or rounded lobes on each side, ranging from ovate to round and measuring 1 to 4 centimeters long. The plant produces small fruits 5 to 7 millimeters in length, characteristic of violet species.

Habitat: Desert scrub, sagebrush, dry areas in yellow-pine forest

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: 900-2600 m

Bioregions: TR, PR, SNE, DMoj

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