Viola rotundifolia aka Early Yellow Violet

Viola rotundifolia is a small perennial, part of the violet family, Violaceae. Its common names include eastern round-leaved violet and early yellow violet. It comes from eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Its range runs south through the Appalachian Mountains to Georgia. In the wild, it grows in rich woodland soils. It is not native to Britain or Ireland.

This low herb has no leafy stems that stand upright. Garden plants reach about 0.5 feet (0.15 m) tall. They spread to about 0.75 feet (0.23 m) wide. The leaves and flower stalks grow from a long rhizome. The leaves range from oval to round in shape. They form a cluster at ground level. Each flower stalk has no leaves, which helps show the blooms. The round leaf shape gives the plant its species name. Its small size suits the low layer of a woodland planting.

Yellow flowers open in early spring as new leaves emerge. Brown veins mark the lower petals and add detail. The Missouri Botanical Garden lists March to April as bloom time. Those dates reflect the climate in St. Louis. The flowers bring a spring show to shaded garden spaces. The plant's low form keeps that show near the ground.

Grow this violet in full shade, even in deep shade. It prefers moist soil with plenty of humus. It also grows in average garden soil that drains well. Do not let the soil dry out in the growing season. Its water needs range from medium to wet. Cool summers suit it better than hot ones. Heat can cause leaf decline, more so in dry soil. The Missouri Botanical Garden lists USDA hardiness zones 3–7. It calls the plant easy to grow, with little upkeep.

Plant groups as ground cover in shaded woodland gardens. It also suits native plant gardens and sites left to naturalize. It readily sets seed and spreads past the first planting. This can make it weedy, not neat or contained. Rock gardens and formal borders may thus be poor choices. Deer tend to leave it alone. This helps where deer limit the choice of plants. The Missouri Botanical Garden reports no serious insect or disease problems. Summer heat and lack of moisture remain the main stated concerns.