Canada Violet
Viola canadensis
Found in rich cove forests, other rich moist situations, such as floodplains. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
80
Keystone
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- 12–18 inches
- Spread
- 1–1.5 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
Not yet recorded · Bloom
Bloom: recorded only in the FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team) phone app (app page).
Recorded in 51 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Rich cove forests; floodplain and bottomland forests.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 111 animals.
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Orange-crowned WarblerVermivora celata
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
29CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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 aphroditeAphrodite Fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary
- Argynnis cybeleGreat Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary
- Argynnis dianaVariegated Fritillary
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Boloria bellonaSilver-Bordered Fritillary, Meadow Fritillary
Show all 29
- Boloria myrinaAtlantis Fritillary, Silver-Bordered Fritillary
- Elaphria grataGrateful Midget
- Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
- 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
- Lacanobia subjunctaSpeckled Arches, Subdues Arches, Harnessed Mamestra, Speckled Cutworm Moth, Grand Arches?(incorrectly)
- 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
- Trichordestra legitimaStriped Garden Caterpillar Moth
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
- Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
- Xestia smithiiSmith's Dart
- Herpetogramma aquilonalis
16BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Viola
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
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
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Violaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–8b
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Cream, yellow, purple or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Cream, yellow, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- Height · “12–18 inches” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differ)
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–1.5 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Self-seeds freely. Freely self-seeds to point of being weedy. Tennessee Smart Yards
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- 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
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications