Ozarks Spring Wildflowers: The Violets

Purple Violet wildflower Viola sp. growing in the Missouri Ozarks.

A commonly seen violet colored Viola. Note the heart shaped leaves.


The spring-blooming violets capture the romantic imagination of poets and songwriters. Growing in well-drained yet fairly moist areas in the hills of the Ozarks, there are dozens of different species and variations. You will see violets that are blue, purple, lavender, white, and yellow. Some are bicolored. Some are striped. Many have little fuzzy beards in the throat of the flower.

Light violet colored wildflower (Viola sp.) seen in the Ozarks.

Violets come in the entire range of blue to purple color, often varying even within the same species.

Picture of Viola triloba with lobed leaves and a light purple flower.

This is Viola triloba named because of the lobed leaves.

Picture of a yellow violet wildflower from the Ozarks in Missouri.

Ever seen a yellow violet? They do exist!

picture of three blooms of a variegated striped violet with purple and white flowers.

Sometimes violets can be found with striped and blotched petal colors. I am not sure if this is a mixed variety, if it's a mutation, or if it's a separate species.

picture of single bloom of variegated violet wildflower found in Piney Creek Wilderness.

Lanie found this perfect little blotched purple and white violet on the Lake Trail at Piney Creek Wilderness this spring.

Picture of Bird's Foot Violet, Viola pedata.

The largest flowered Violet is Viola pedata, the Bird's Foot Violet.

picture of Field Pansy, Viola bicolor.

Field pansies are violets too. This is Viola bicolor.

One thought on “Ozarks Spring Wildflowers: The Violets

  1. Carolyn Amrit Knaus

    There are yellow violets now at black bass lake in eureka springs , AR 1st yellow violets in the wild that I have seen !
    A wildflower lover and Arkansas certified naturalist , Amrit Knaus. Happy Spring !!

    Reply

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.