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NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Viola villosa

Southern Woolly Violet, Carolina Violet

Scientific Name:

Viola villosa

Genus:

Viola

Species Epithet:

villosa

Common Name:

Southern Woolly Violet, Carolina Violet

Plant Type

Herb/Wildflower

Life Cycle

Perennial

Plant Family

Violaceae (Violet Family)

Native/Alien:

NC Native

Size:

0-1 ft.

Bloom Color(s):

Blue, Violet

Light:

Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day, Less than 2 hours of sun per day

Soil Moisture:

Dry

Bloom Time:

Feb, March, April

Growing Area:

Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain

Habitat Description:

Pocosin ecotones, other sites with moist soils.  From Bruce Sorrie, habitat in Sandhills is “dry loamy sand soil of oak-hickory woods, pine-oak-sourwood slopes along sreamheads, and pea swales within longleaf pinelands.” Uncommon in NC Piedmont and Coastal Plain.

Leaf Arrangement:

Alternate

Leaf Retention:

Deciduous

Leaf Type:

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Leaf Form:

Simple

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Wildlife Value:

Not Assigned

Landscape Value:

Suitable for home landscapes

State Rank:

S2: Imperiled (*Key)

Global Rank:

G5 - Secure (*Key)

State Status:

W7: Watch List: Poorly Known in NC (*Key)

Notes:

Uncommon on the coast and in the Piedmont.
CSP: moist places, especially pocosin edges (Anson*, Bladen*, Cumberland, Hoke, New Hanover*, Onslow*, Pender, Richmond, Scotland)

Flower

Woolly Violet is a mostly evergreen low-growing violet with early-blooming, small violet flowers. Pretty but easy to miss. Uncommon on the coast and in the piedmont area.

image

Paynter, Wilmington, March 2014

Flower side view

image

Paynter

Evergreen rosette of leaves

The leaves lie quite flat to the ground and have distinctive dark veins. They are densely pubescent above and below.

image

Paynter

Links:

USDA PLANTS Database Record

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Flora of North America



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