# Smooth Yellow Violet

*Viola eriocarpa*

Its seeds feature a nutrient-rich appendage called an elaiosome, which coaxes ants into carrying the seeds back to their nests, effectively planting them.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Malpighiales › Violaceae › Viola
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Moist deciduous woodlands, rich slope forests, and alluvial floodplains.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (photosynthesis via sunlight, water, and soil nutrients).
- **Range:** Eastern North America, Midwestern United States, Southeastern Canada
- **Size:** 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 inches) tall.
- **Lifespan:** Perennial (individual rootstocks can survive for several years).
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, displacement by invasive species like garlic mustard, and overbrowsing by white-tailed deer.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. You can safely observe this delicate wildflower from the trail. Avoid stepping on them or picking them, as they serve as vital early-season resources for native pollinators. If touched, no special action is needed as they are non-toxic to human skin.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/cb4f7eb6-d9c1-44ef-a206-234acb5a2de4
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/544286

- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/130537847/medium.jpeg (Lynn Harper, CC0, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.