Viola hirtipes S. Moore

Herbs perennial, acaulescent and without stolon, 7-15 cm tall at anthesis, to 30 cm at fruiting. Rhizome erect, short, less than 1 cm, simple at top, often surrounded by remains of stipules; roots usually produced from same place on rhizome, oblique or slightly horizontal, white or brownish, 8-15 cm, robust, 1.5-3 mm in diam. Leaves 1-4 at anthesis; stipules greenish or glaucous, submembranous, over 1/2 adnate to petiole, free part linear-lanceolate, margin sparsely shortly glandular fimbriate-denticulate, apex acuminate; petiole equaling or slightly exceeding blade, elongated at fruiting, to 18 cm, densely sericeous; leaf blade oblong-ovate or ovate, 2-7 × 1-4 cm, both surfaces usually glabrous, or white puberulous only in lower part, particularly along veins abaxially, base slightly or deeply cordate, margin crenate, apex obtuse or ± acute; leaves increasing in number at fruiting; leaf blade enlarged to 15 cm × ca. 8 cm. Flowers purplish, large, 2-3 cm in diam.; pedicels long, slightly exceeding or equaling leaves, slender, densely or sparsely white puberulous, or sometimes subglabrous in upper part, 2-bracteolate at or below middle; bracteoles linear. Sepals oblong-lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 6-8.5 mm, margin narrowly membranous, 3- or 5-veined, apex acute, basal auricles 1.5-2 mm, ciliate or glabrous, apex obtuse or truncate. Petals obovate, ca. 1.6 cm × ca. 7.5 mm, lateral ones distinctly bearded, ca. 1.5 × 0.6 cm, anterior one whitish and purple striate at base, 2-2.5 mm (spur included); spur cylindric, 7-9 mm, 1-2 mm in diam., straight or slightly curved upward, apex rounded. Stamens: appendages of connectives ca. 1.5 mm; anthers 2-2.5 mm; spur of 2 anterior stamens long, 4-5 mm, slender, ca. 0.8 mm in diam. Ovary narrowly ovoid, glabrous or puberulous; styles slightly geniculate at base, conspicuously thickened upward; stigmas 2-lobed, conspicuously margined on lateral sides and abaxially, shortly beaked in front, with a smaller and upward stigma hole at tip of beak. Capsule narrowly ellipsoid, glabrous. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. May-Jul. 2n = 24.

E Jilin, E Liaoning [Japan, Korea, Russia].

Broad-leaved forests, forest margins, thickets, grasslands on mountain slopes; 100-600 m.