Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: striped cream violet
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Violaceae
Native Range: Eastern North America
Zone: 4 to 7
Height: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: April to June
Bloom Description: Pale violet/white
Sun: Part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Deer
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium to wet, well-drained soils in part shade. Prefers moist, humusy soils. Does not spread by runners, but freely self-seeds.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Viola striata, commonly called pale violet, cream violet or striped violet, is a native Missouri wildflower which occurs in rich, moist woods, valleys, bottomlands and streambanks in the Ozark region of the State. Features creamy white flowers with a purple-veined lower petal. Flowers appear in spring (April-June in St. Louis) rising from the leaf axils of leafy stems growing 6-12" tall. Dark green, heart-shaped leaves with deeply cut stipules form a thick ground cover.
Genus name comes from the Latin name for various sweet-scented flowers.
Specific epithet means lined or striped in reference to the lower flower petal veining.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Profuse self-seeding borders on being weedy in more formalized plantings.
Uses
Mass in shaded areas of woodland gardens, wildflower gardens or native plant gardens.