The lemon-yellow, purple-veined flowers of this adorable perennial herb are distinctively downy and plentiful from early April to early May. Fittingly, the genus name is Latin for “violet," and the specific epithet means “downy or hairy.” Downy yellow violet is common in Ohio, where it grows around a foot tall on leafy stems above bright green, heart-shaped leaves. Also known as yellow forest violet, this plant resides in all types of wooded habitats, including highly disturbed sites. It prefers partly shady conditions and moist, well-drained soils, but some resources say that it will adapt to drier conditions in part or full shade. Gardeners love to utilize the showy flowers and foliage as an ornamental groundcover for shadier areas. Later in the season, petalless flowers develop near or under the ground. These greenish cleistogamous flowers often never open. They self-fertilize and produce an abundance of seeds whose genes are identical to the parent plant, ensuring that this species will not hybridize with other similar species. Downy yellow violet is most prevalent in eastern and northeastern areas of the US.
Native habitats include meadows, low woods, and woodlands. Use along shaded trails, in woodlands, along banks of water features, with spring ephemerals, and in shadier areas of the landscape.
Plant Characteristics:
Grows 9-19" tall.
Prefers light to medium shade.
Prefers moist to average soils, but adapts to drier soils.
Solitary, bilaterally symmetrical flowers are located atop flower stems that emerge from an uppe-leaf axil. Each flower has 5 rounded petals and sepals, 5 stamens, and 1 pistil. The lower petal has a backward-projecting nectar sac near its base and purplish nectar guides for insects. The ovoid-shaped, 3-celled fruit is a 3/4" long capsule or pod that may be densely hairy. It turns brown when it matures and opens explosively to eject and scatter pale-brown seeds for several feet.
Leaves are basal or stemmed and alternate. Stem leaves have short petioles and basal have long. margins of leaves are serrated. Leaves can be smooth or hairy, veined, 1-5" long, triangular or ovate.
Roots are coarse and fibrous. Spreads to form large colonies by stout rhizomes that are thick, woody, and scaly.
Wildlife Value:
Host plant for 29 species of Lepidoptera larvae, including 5 specialist fritillaries, great leopard moth, and the beggar moth. The flowers are cross-pollinated primarily by bees. The nectar and pollen attract a wide diversity of bees,flies, and small skippers. The seeds are eaten by birds such as slate-colored juncos, ruffed grouses, bobwhites, wild turkeys, and mourning doves. The leaves and stems are eaten by rabbits, chipmunks, deer, and wood turtles.
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses:
A leaf poultice was used for treating headaches, and a root poultice was used for treating boils. Various parts of the plant were used to treat ulcers, bedsores, heart issues, dysentery, colds, coughs, blood disorders, and indigestion.
A leaf poultice is presently being studied as a possible treatment for skin cancer.
Caution: Because the plant is purgative, excessive consumption may have undesired effects. Some botanists claim that all Viola species have some degree of edibility. Other botanists say yellow violets are cathartic and inedible and that only the species with blue or white flowers should be considered safe to consume.
Resources:
Lake Forest College: https://tinyurl.com/4nbkkdtp
ODNR: https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/plants-trees/flowering-plants/downy-yellow-violet
Illinois Wildflowers: https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/yl_violet.htm
Indiana Native Plants: indiananativeplants.org/GM_yellowviolet1