Bird's-foot Violet
Viola pedata
82
Keystone
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 4–8 inches
- Spread
- 4–8 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to 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
- Bloom
- Spring and summer
- Fruiting season
- Spring to summer
Recorded in 7 West Virginia counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 60 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (42)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Crow
- American Goldfinch
- American Kestrel
- American Robin
- Belted Kingfisher
- Black-billed Cuckoo
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chimney Swift
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Eastern Kingbird
- Eastern Towhee
- European Starling
- Fox Sparrow
- Gray Catbird
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Great Horned Owl
- Least Flycatcher
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Cardinal
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Olive-sided Flycatcher
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Care
- Provide excellent drainage to prevent crown rot.
Care sources
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
29CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · 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 atlantisMountain Silver-Spot, Regal Fritillary, Atlantis Fritillary
- Argynnis cybeleGreat Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary
- Argynnis dianaVariegated Fritillary
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
Show all 29
- Boloria bellonaSilver-Bordered Fritillary, Meadow Fritillary
- 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 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
7BirdsRecorded eating Viola in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- Ruffed GrouseFruit and leaves. 13 diet records
- Wild Turkey4 diet records
- Vesper Sparrow4 diet records
- Northern Bobwhite2 diet records
- American Pipit1 diet record
- Dark-eyed JuncoSeeds. 1 diet record
- Lapland Longspur1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Flies 1
- Eristalis latifrons
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 4
- Plusia simplex
- Thanaos brizo
- Thanaos juvenalis
- Vanessa cardui
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other wasps · Other insects
Birds that eat Viola 7
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Violaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to neutral
- Flower color
- Blue, purple or white
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Spring and summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Flower color · “Blue, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox · Species profile fruit display season; not a local ripening date
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- Height · “4–8 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “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, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil · “Good drainage; Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Spread · “4–8 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
Also known as
Bird Foot Violet; Bird's foot Violet
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV 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. Will self-seed. Tennessee Smart Yards
- Harder to grow. More difficult to grow than most violas. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox
- Needs good drainage. Provide excellent drainage to prevent crown rot. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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