Lanceleaf Violet
Viola lanceolata
Found in seeps and springs; Coastal Plain seepage bogs; swamps; depression ponds and limesinks; Coastal dunes and beaches; ponds, lakes and their shores. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 88%
- Height
- 2–6 inches
- Spread
- 2–6 inches
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Moist to standing water
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 37 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.
Depression ponds and limesinks
Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.
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
Plant details
- Family
- Violaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–10b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Purple or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 6a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–6 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- 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; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Soil · “Frequent standing water; Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–6 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- 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