Marsh Blue Violet

Viola cucullata

Found in bogs, seeps, margins of spring branches. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

Keystone

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 88%

Height: 5–10 inches
Light: Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Usually moist

Will it fit your yard?

Viola cucullata photograph — (c) Tom Scavo, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

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

Recorded in 92 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

Groundwater seep. Shown: Gum Swamp Trail, Weymouth Woods, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC BY 2.0. Source record.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 144 animals.

Prothonotary Warbler
Protonotaria citrea
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Ring-necked Duck
Aythya collaris
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Song Sparrow
Melospiza melodia
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Tree Swallow
Tachycineta bicolor
Birds. 2 shared habitats
White-winged Crossbill
Loxia leucoptera
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Willow Flycatcher
Empidonax traillii
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Wood Duck
Aix sponsa
Birds. 2 shared habitats
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Birds. 2 shared habitats
American Coot
Fulica americana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Bank Swallow
Riparia riparia
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Canvasback
Aythya valisineria
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Gadwall
Anas strepera
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Least Bittern
Ixobrychus exilis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Orchard Oriole
Icterus spurius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Red Crossbill
Loxia curvirostra
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rough-legged Hawk
Buteo lagopus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Snowy Owl
Bubo scandiacus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Sora
Porzana carolina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-throated Warbler
Dendroica dominica
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

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

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

Flies 1

Bombylius pulchellus

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 4

Thanaos brizo
Thanaos juvenalis
Thanaos martialis
Vanessa huntera

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Violaceae
Hardiness: Zones 3a–7b
Soil pH: Neutral
Flower color: Green, purple or white

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

Growing sources and scope

Flower color · “Green, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Hardiness · “Zones 3a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “5–10 inches” · Tennessee Smart Yards (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Minnesota Wildflowers differ) · Published Tennessee growing guidance; exact cached scientific heading
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Bog Violet

Conservation status

Virginia rank	S4S5
Global rank	G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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.

How to check your spot

Growing cautions

Self-seeds freely. Freely self-seeds. Tennessee Smart Yards

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Marsh Blue Violet

At a glance

Natural habitats

Also found with this plant

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Growing cautions

Sources

More Viola