| Author | Elliott | |
| Distribution | Weakley (2020) has split Viola glaberrima (and also the poorly known V. tenuipes) out from the former V. tripartita. Thus, this species account represents the former V. tripartita var. tripartita only. There are specimen records for 90-100 years ago from Buncombe and Henderson counties (verified by Ballard in 2024); another from Jackson County (2004) is misidentified. There seem to be no more recent records, and there are no photos on iNaturalist either. At any rate, found only in the southern Mountains, at least formerly.
This species (strict sense) ranges from southwestern NC and adjacent TN, south only to northern GA and northeastern AL; disjunct to southern OH. | |
| Abundance | Very rare if still extant. The NCNHP in 2022 has placed this taxon -- considered as a full species by Weakley (2022), as he has V. glaberrima split off as a good species -- on its Watch List (W7); however, it deserves to be tracked as Significantly Rare. The website editors sadly suggest a State Rank of SH (Historical) instead of S1. | |
| Habitat | This species requires high pH soil, typically growing in rich soils of Rich Cove Forests. | |
| Phenology | Blooms from late March or early April to May, and fruits from April to June. | |
| Identification | This is the only yellow-flowered violet with divided leaves, with 3 segments, but with jagged margins. It has a stem to about 8-9 inches tall, with the 3-7 leaves emerging from the upper part of the stem, usually near the same place. All other yellow-flowered violets have orbicular, ovate, hastate, or other shapes of undivided leaves. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Weakley (2020) follows Ballard in his treatment of the Viola taxonomy in his new flora. Most records of Viola "tripartita" (broad sense) in NC are now V. glaberrima.
General note on Viola: In 2009-10 B.A. Sorrie (website map editor) went through the whole collection at NCU, annotating all specimens against those verified by experts in the genus. The range maps in RAB (1968) have been changed accordingly. More recently, Harvey Ballard and colleagues are in the process of revising all Eastern and Southeastern Viola, and have annotated all specimens at NCU in July 2024. They recognize additional species not in RAB or in previous editions of Weakley et al.; we will follow updated editions of Weakley et al. in recognizing them. Species range maps have been adjusted to account for identification changes. | |
| Other Common Name(s) | Threepart Yellow Violet | |
| State Rank | S1 [SH] | |
| Global Rank | G5T3 [G3] | |
| State Status | W7 [SR] | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
