Other pictures of this plant:

Facts About this Plant:

Viola sagittata, or Arrowhead Violet, is native to most of the eastern half of the United States, except Florida. It is a perennial, which grows in moist meadows, fields and prairies, along trails, and along woodland edges, usually in moist sandy soil. It blooms in mid to late spring with purple flowers that are usually dark purple.

This plant does not look like many others and can usually be fairly easily distinguished by its short stature and its arrow or heart-shaped leaves. The one species that it does look like is its close cousin, Viola fimbriatula, which is considered by some to be the same species, or a variant of Viola sagittata, but here we treat it as a separate species for several reasons: Viola fimbriatula seems to grow almost always in dry areas, where Viola sagittata grows in moist areas; additionally, Viola fimbriatula has leaves that are much less "arrow-shaped" and are more oval, as well as leaves that are hairy; finally, its stems for the most part are short and lay flat on the ground, while Viola sagittata has long stems that stand erect alongside the flower stem. See comparison photo below.

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