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American Dog Violet

Viola labradorica

Found in moist alluvial woodlands and forests, seepage slopes, marl ravines, hammocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

80
Keystone

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

Profile 76%

Height
1–8 inches
Spread
3–6 inches
Light
Full sun to part shade
Soil moisture
Average

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

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

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 29 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

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

1 of 3

Seeps and springs

Weymouth Woods Gum Swamp Trail seep
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.

Moist forests

Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland
Regional / representative. Shown: Mountains of North and South Carolina; exact site not identified, a neighboring state.Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 128 animals.

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

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Violaceae
Hardiness
Zones 3–8

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

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Alpine Violet; Viola conspersa

Conservation status

Virginia rankSNR
Global rankG5
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources