prairie wildflower
Prairie Violet
Viola pedatifida
Also known as Purple Prairie Violet, Larkspur Violet, Crow-foot Violet, Coastal Violet
1 of 2Native to the Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Rockies and southern Canada
Pennsylvania to Alberta, south to Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona
- Light Full sun Sun tolerance
- Moisture Moist Moisture preference
- Zones 3–8 Cold to heat range
- Bloom Apr–Jun Flowering time
- Height up to 1 ft to 0.3 m
- Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial
In the garden
A prairie wildflower for full sun and evenly moist soil. At up to 1 ft, it tucks into meadows and sunny borders. Hardy in USDA zones 3–8.
Growing conditions
Light
Full sun Partial shade Full shade
Moisture
Dry Moist Wet
Hardiness zones
Find your zone:
Pollinators & wildlife
- Bees Carlin's Mining Bee
also Red-footed Cuckoo Leafcutter, water-lily sweat bee, False Sunflower Cuckoo Nomad Bee +7 more
Pseudopanurgus passiflorae, Short-horned Yellow-face Bee, Denticulate Nomad, Coelioxys alternata, Svastra compta, Melissodes dentiventris, Tetragona dissecta - Beetles Slender Flower Longhorn Beetle also Disonycha limbicollis, Emerald Euphoria
- Flower flies Hairy-eyed Bee-mimic Fly also Maize Calligrapher
- Also visited by
- Butterflies: Variegated Fritillary
Butterflies that use this plant
Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.
- Variegated fritillaryhost & nectar
- Aphrodite fritillarycaterpillar host
- Great spangled fritillarycaterpillar host
- Silver-bordered fritillarycaterpillar host
Full plant details
Where it grows
- Habitat
- PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
- Native range
- The Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Rockies and southern CanadaUnited States (19): AR, AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NM, OH, OK, SD, WI, WY. Canada (1): MB. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
- Native distribution
- Pennsylvania to Alberta, south to Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and ArizonaThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.
Growing conditions
- Light
- Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
- Moisture
- MoistThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
- Hardiness zones
- USDA 3–8 · Canadian 2–7The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
- Soil
- Mesic to dry soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
Growth & form
- Height
- up to 1 ft (to 0.3 m)Typical mature height.
- Life cycle
- PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
Flowers, foliage & fruit
- Type
- WildflowerWhat kind of plant it is.
- Bloom
- Apr–JunWhen it flowers.
- Flower color
- PurpleThe bloom color, or colors.
- Fruit/Seeds
- CapsuleThe seed or fruit it sets after flowering.
- Toxicity
- None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.