Viola silicestris

A herbaceous perennial, spreading by stolons and forming colonies.

It has a mostly coastal distribution in NSW growing mainly in to the northern and southern state borders.

There are many records around Sydney, Wollongong and the Southern Highlands as well as Morton National Park (west of Milton and Ulladulla and towards Batemans Bay). There are some disjunct records south-east of Bombala near the Victorian border. It can be found in the Blue Mountains and around Newcastle and then in disjunct occurrences up the coast to north of Brisbane in Queensland.

It is often found in dry and wet sclerophyll forests as well as heathland, usually on sandy or volcanic soils.

Viola spp. have simple and alternate leaves, usually with stipules present. In this species, leaves are basal and form rosettes, to 1.5 cm long and to 4 cm wide, usually truncate or squared-off at the base, with margins slightly toothed; with the leaf tapering into a long petiole to 11 cm long, mid to dark green.

Viola spp. typically produce solitary flowers with 5 sepals and 5 petals with a zygomophic shape (can only be equally folded one way), with 4 more-or-less even petals and a larger anterior petal, arranged almost in a rotate shape. In this species, flowers are solitary, on elevated stalks to 15 cm long, with flowers about 1.5 cm across, pale mauve to blue in colour with the anterior petal having darker veins and a small green blotch; occurring in spring.

The fruit is a capsule. In this species, they are pale green, sometimes with purple blotches with seeds up to 2 mm long, glossy purple-black when mature.