Viola betonicifolia Smith subsp. novaguineensis D. M. Moore; V. betonicifolia var. oblongosagittata (Nakai) F. Maekawa & T. Hashimoto; V. chinensis G. Don; V. confusa Champion ex Bentham; V. confusa subsp. nagasakiensis (W. Becker) F. Maekawa & T. Hashimoto; V. hunanensis Handel-Mazzetti; V. inconspicua subsp. nagasakiensis (W. Becker) J. C. Wang & T. C. Huang; V. mandshurica subsp. nagasakiensis W. Becker; V. minor (Makino) Makino; V. oblongosagittata Nakai; V. patrinii var. minor Makino; V. philippica subsp. malesica W. Becker; V. primulifolia Loureiro (1790), not Linnaeus (1753); V. pseudomonbeigii Chang; V. serpens Wallich ex Gingins var. confusa (Bentham) J. D. Hooker & Thomson.

Herbs perennial, acaulescent. Rhizome erect or obliquely ascending, 1-2 cm, robust, 2-8 mm in diam., densely noded, with white roots. Leaves basal, rosulate; stipules ca. 3/4 adnate to petiole, free part lanceolate, 3-7 mm, margin sparsely shortly fimbriate-dentate, rarely entire, usually brown rusty dotted, apex acute; petiole 2-7 cm, usually glabrous or rarely shortly pubescent; leaf blade triangular-ovate, 1.5-9 × 1-7 cm, 1-2.2 × as long as wide, broadest at base, usually glabrous, rarely puberulous, base cordate with usually prominent, rounded basal lobes, decurrent to 1/3 length of petiole and narrowly winged, apex acuminate or acute. Flowers purplish or white, with darker striations; pedicels usually subequaling or slightly exceeding leaves, slender, glabrous or puberulous in upper part, 2-bracteolate slightly above middle; bracteoles linear. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, 4-7 × 1-1.8 mm, apex acute, glabrous or ciliate; appendage elongated, (1.5-)2-3(-4.8) mm, shallowly incised. Petals oblong-obovate, 7-9 mm; lateral ones bearded or rarely glabrous; anterior one 1-1.2 cm (spur included); spur tubular, 1.8-3(-4) mm, straight, obtuse. Spur of anterior stamens angular, base broad, apex acute. Ovary globose, glabrous; styles clavate, base slightly geniculate; stigmas flat at top, with broader margin on lateral sides, shortly beaked in front, with a stigmatic hole opening upward at tip of beak. Capsule oblong, 8-10 mm, glabrous. Seeds deep green, ovoid-globose, 1-1.5 mm, ca. 0.8 mm in diam. Fl. Nov-Apr, fr. Jun-Nov. 2n = 24*, 48*, 72.

Grasslands, field sides, path margins, forest margins; below 1600(-2400) m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, SE Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Guinea, Philippines, Vietnam].