''Viola walteri'', the prostrate blue violet, is a perennial plant in the violet family (

Violaceae Violaceae is a family of flowering plants established in 1802, consisting of about 1000 species in about 25 genera. It takes its name from the genus ''Viola'', the violets and pansies. Older classifications such as the Cronquist system placed t ...

). It is native to Southeastern and Appalachian

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. It is generally uncommon throughout its range, with populations becoming fragmented in the north. ''Viola walteri'' is found in rich

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...

forests and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

s, often in dry rocky areas. It is a

spring ephemeral An ephemeral plant is one marked by short life cycles. The word ephemeral means transitory or quickly fading. In regard to plants, it refers to several distinct growth strategies. The first, spring ephemeral, refers to perennial plants that emerge ...

, flowering March through May. It distinguished by its creeping, rooting stolons, which is thought to be indicative of it being transitional between the caulescent and acaulescent violets. This species is similar to '' Viola appalachiensis'', which was once considered a variety of ''Viola walteri''.Digital Atlas of Virginia Flora
/ref>

References

Flora of the Southeastern United States walteri Flora of Texas Flora of Ohio Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Violaceae-stub