Hooded Blue Violet

Viola sororia

Found in floodplain and bottomland forests; forest edges and thickets; swamps; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. 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 94%

Height: 6–10 inches
Spread: 6–10 inches
Light: Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Full sun, 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

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At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial
Bloom: Mid spring
Fruiting season: Spring to summer

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 86 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 4

Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 115 animals.

Swamp Sparrow
Melospiza georgiana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Tree Swallow
Tachycineta bicolor
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Tufted Titmouse
Baeolophus bicolor
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Veery
Catharus fuscescens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-throated Sparrow
Zonotrichia albicollis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wood Duck
Aix sponsa
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wood Thrush
Hylocichla mustelina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Worm-eating Warbler
Helmitheros vermivorum
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Coccyzus americanus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Icteria virens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Dendroica coronata
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

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Violaceae
Hardiness: Zones 3a–7b
Soil pH: Acidic to alkaline
Flower color: Blue, pink, purple or white
Growth rate: Moderate
Growth habit: Spreads by rhizomes
Foliage color: Green
Fruit begins: Spring
Fruit ends: Summer

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

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “Mid spring” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Flower color · “Blue, pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
Hardiness · “Zones 3a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “6–10 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight); 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; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Spread · “6–10 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Common Blue Violet; Viola communis

Conservation status

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

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Growing cautions

Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS

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

Hooded 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