Viola purpurea is a species of violet

Violet (plant)

Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae, with around 400–500 species distributed around the world. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, viola species are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in...

 which bears yellow flowers. It is known commonly as the goosefoot violet. It is a small plant which bears thick to fleshy toothed or ridged oval leaves which are mostly green but may have a purplish tint to them. The flowers are made up of bright yellow petals, the lowermost being streaked or veined with purple and the lateral petals with purplish undersides.

There are several subspecies, most of which are known by the common name goosefoot violet. These subspecies are found across the western United States from Wyoming to California. It is a member of the chaparral plant community

Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...

and the foothills and low elevation mountains.

Sub-species of Viola purpurea

• Viola purpurea subsp. dimorpha
• Viola purpurea subsp. geophyta
• Viola purpurea subsp. integrifolia
• Viola purpurea subsp. mesophyta
• Viola purpurea subsp. mohavensis
• Viola purpurea subsp. purpurea
• Viola purpurea subsp. quercetorum
• Viola purpurea subsp. venosa, most widely distributed variety.