Viola frank-smithii is a rare species of violet known by the common name Frank Smith's violet. It is endemic to Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 in the United States, where it is known only from Logan Canyon

Logan Canyon

Logan Canyon is a canyon that cuts its way through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range, in northeastern Utah. The canyon is popular for both summer and winter activities, especially rock-climbing, hiking, camping, fishing, snowmobiling, and skiing, at the Beaver Mountain ski...

 in the Bear River Range

Bear River Mountains

The Bear River Mountains are located in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho. One of the mountains' sinks recorded the lowest temperature in Utah on February 1, 1985, at , which is also the second-lowest temperature ever recorded in the contiguous United States. U.S...

 in Cache County.

This perennial herb produces a stem a few centimeters long, which is surrounded by the withered leaves of previous seasons and new leaves, which are heart-shaped. The flower is pale purple except for the lowest petal, which is greenish. Blooming occurs in May and June.

This plant grows on vertical limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 cliffs, often in spots shaded by Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Rocky Mountain maple (Acer glabrum), and bigtooth maple (A. grandidentatum). Other plants in the habitat include pink alumroot

Heuchera rubescens

Heuchera rubescens is a species of Heuchera. Its common name is pink alumroot. It is native to the western United States and northern Mexico.-External links:***...

 (Heuchera rubescens), mat rock spiraea

Petrophyton caespitosum

Petrophyton caespitosum is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common name mat rock spiraea. It is native to the western United States where it grows in mountainous areas from the Sierra Nevada to the Rocky Mountains. It grows among rocks in forested and woodland habitat...

 (Petrophyton caespitosum), narrowleaf wildparsley (Musineon lineare), Maguire's primrose

Primula cusickiana

Primula cusickiana is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family known by the common name Cusick's primrose. It is native to the western United States in and around the Great Basin. Its distribution extends into Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah.There are four varieties of this species:*P....

 (Primula cusickiana var. maguirei), Cronquist's fleabane (Erigeron cronquistii), cutleaf mountain mahogany

Cercocarpus ledifolius

Cercocarpus ledifolius is a species of mountain mahogany known by the common name curl-leaf mountain mahogany.-Description:This is a large, densely-branching shrub or a tree which may reach 10 meters in height. Its leathery, sticky, dark green leaves are up to 4 centimeters long and lance-shaped,...

 (Cercocarpus ledifolius), Watson's prickly phlox (Leptodactylon watsonii), bluebells

Mertensia oblongifolia

Mertensia oblongifolia is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common names oblongleaf bluebells and sagebrush bluebells. It is native to the western United States, where it grows in several types of habitat, including meadows and sagebrush...

 (Mertensia oblongifolia), and various moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...

es.