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European Field Pansy

Viola arvensis

Found in roadsides, fields, other disturbed habitats. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual or perennial

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: recorded only in the FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) phone app (app page).

Height, spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 9 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Viola

  • Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary
  • Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
  • Agrotis venerabilisVenerable Dart, Dusky Cut-Worm
  • Apantesis naisNais Tiger Moth
  • Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
  • Argynnis cybeleGreat Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary
  • Argynnis dianaVariegated Fritillary
  • Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
  • Elaphria grataGrateful Midget
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
Show all 21
  • Eubaphe mendicaThe Beggar
  • Eupsilia vinulentaStraight-Toothed Sallow
  • Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
  • Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
  • Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
  • Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Viola

  • Andrena violae
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
8BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Viola

  • Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
  • Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
  • Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
  • Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
  • Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
  • Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Violaceae
Hardiness
Zones 6a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Yellow, purple or white

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Alabama rankNot available
Global rankGNR
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources