Japanese violet is a small, stemless violet from East Asia that blooms pale violet to purple in early spring. In the U.S. it is a rare introduced plant, recorded in lawns and plantings in Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A low perennial with no upright stem; leaves and flower stalks rise straight from a short, thick rootstock. Usually 2–5 in (5–12 cm) tall, occasionally up to about 9 in (22 cm).
- Leaves
- Undivided, narrowly egg-shaped to long-triangular leaves with a heart-shaped base, a pointed tip, and round-toothed edges. The leafstalks lack wings and grow much longer after flowering.
- Flowers
- Pale violet to violet flowers with a white throat, roughly 1/2–3/4 in (1.2–2 cm) across, with a slender about 1/4–1/3 in (6–8 mm) long. The side petals are hairless or only lightly bearded.
- Flowering time
- Spring (March–May in Japan).
- Fruit
- After the showy spring flowers, it makes closed flowers that pollinate themselves and form small oval seed capsules about 3/8 in (1 cm) long.
Look-alikes
Arrowleaf violetViola sagittata
Japanese violet has a long spur (about 1/4–3/8 in, 5–10 mm) and hairless side petals. Arrowleaf violet has a very short spur (under 1/8 in, 2–3 mm) and bearded side petals.
Why they get mixed upBoth have narrow, arrow-to-triangle-shaped leaves and violet flowers.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- lawns
- gardens and plantings
- disturbed ground
- Range
- Native to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In the U.S. it is known only as an escape in Massachusetts (Middlesex County), New York, and the District of Columbia; in New England it spread from plantings at a botanical garden in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is also naturalized in Argentina.
- Preferred conditions
- In its native range it grows in sunny or lightly shaded lowland spots; in the U.S. it turns up in lawns, gardens, and other human-maintained ground.
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