Dwarf Violet (Viola improcera)
Description
- The Dwarf Violet is a small plant that grows to about 2 cm tall.
- It has tufted leaves with wavy edges and produces pale blue-violet flowers with 5 petals.
- The plant’s seeds are small, black, and smooth.
- It usually flowers in December.
- It’s believed to produce seeds and also spread through stems called stolons.
- It needs pollen from other plants to make seeds and doesn’t self-pollinate.
- Its seeds need cold weather to start growing and don’t respond to smoke.
- It is thought that it takes 6-9 years for it to grow from seed to maturity.
- Its seed can survive in the soil for a long time.
- After the 2019–20 bushfires, some observed plants were larger than expected, suggesting it might resprout after fires if its stolons aren’t burned.
Find out more about the Dwarf Violet on Canberra NatureMapr.
Where to find them
The Dwarf Violet is found in high mountain areas in:
- Alpine National Park in Victoria
- Namadgi National Park in the ACT
- Deua National Park in NSW.
In the ACT, it is found in Namadgi National Park at:
- Big Creamy Flat
- Scabby Range
- Sentry Box.
It’s unclear if there are 3 subpopulations or 1 large population in the ACT. Because the Dwarf Violet is pollinated by insects, it’s hard to know how genetically different these groups are.
The Dwarf Violet grows at high elevations between 1,300-1,800 m above sea level in open shrubland and snow-gum woodland. It grows in open areas and along little used tracks in rocky soil next to plants such as Snow gums and Shaggy-pea shrubs. In the ACT is has also been recorded growing alongside the rare Namadgi tea-tree (Gaudium namadgiense).
Conservation threats
The main threat to the Dwarf Violet in the ACT is destruction of its habitat. Other threats include:
- increased temperatures, drought, less rainfall, and reduced snow in mountain areas
- human activity disturbing the species’ habitat
- grazing by animals such as rabbits
- damage from feral deer including Fallow Deer (Dama dama), Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) and Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor)
- damage from feral pigs
- more frequent and intense fires that make it hard for the Dwarf Violet to regrow and spread
- drought and fires that might kill a lot of young plants
- fires at the wrong time of year that could affect pollinators or disrupt the plant’s growth cycle.
Conservation status
- National – Endangered (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999).
- Australian Capital Territory – Endangered (Nature Conservation Act 2014)
Conservation actions
Conservation aims to increase long-term, wild populations of the Dwarf Violet in the ACT, including to:
- protect groups of the species near tracks using signs, markers, or by rerouting tracks if needed
- identify and include the species and its habitat needs in the ACT Ecological Guidelines and management apps
- manage invasive plants and animals where the species is found
- collect and store seeds and plant material from known groups to keep their genetic material safe
- work with the National Seed Bank at the Australian National Botanical Gardens
- monitor the number, growth, and health of the species to track how they are affected by fire and climate change
- work with other regions to support the recovery of the species.