Viola odorata
English violet, sweet violet, Sweet Violet
(c) Katerina Kalogerini, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Violaceae · Type: Herb · Not Native
Viola odorata (English violet) is a non-native California herb in the Violaceae family, recognized by . Key features: non-native, stoloniferous, fragrant flowers, garden escape.
English violet is a naturalized perennial found in coastal California regions including North Coast, Sacramento Valley, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay, and South Coast in shady, moist riparian habitats at elevations of 30 to 1,255 meters. Flowering from January to May, this plant produces deep to pale blue-violet, pale blue, or white flowers with distinctive lower petals generally veined purple and side petals featuring cylindric beard-like hairs. Growing as a low spreading herb to 12 centimeters tall with thin rhizomes and leafy green stolons, it develops finely hairy stems. Its simple basal leaves are elliptic or ovate, 1.5 to 7 centimeters long with cordate bases, crenate edges, and obtuse to rounded tips supported by petioles 2 to 17 centimeters long. Small ovoid fruits 5 to 8 millimeters long are flecked with purple and covered in fine hairs.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 25 sympatric species. Key features: non-native, stoloniferous, fragrant flowers, garden escape
Habitat and range
Habitat: Garden escape reported in shady, moist areas generally in riparian habitats
Elevation: 30-1255 m
California counties: Orange, Yolo, Los Angeles, Riverside, El Dorado, Marin, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, Humboldt, Butte, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Monterey
Outside California: to British Columbia, eastern North America, Australia, native to Eurasia
Bloom period
Viola odorata blooms Jan-May.
How to tell it apart
vs Asarum: Viola flowers sit above ground on stalks; Asarum flowers hide at ground level under heart-shaped leaves.; vs Cardamine: Viola has irregular flowers with a spur; Cardamine has 4-petaled symmetrical flowers.; vs Lycianthes: Viola flowers have a backward spur; Lycianthes has star-shaped flowers with no spur.; vs Pelargonium: Viola has a petal-derived spur; Pelargonium has a sepal-derived spur fused to the flower stalk.; vs Eschscholzia: Viola has 5 petals with one forming a spur; Eschscholzia has 4 separate fan-shaped petals.
Frequently asked questions
Is Viola odorata native to California?
No. Viola odorata is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Viola odorata bloom?
Viola odorata blooms Jan-May.
Where in California does Viola odorata grow?
Viola odorata occurs in Orange, Yolo, Los Angeles, Riverside, El Dorado, Marin, Alameda, San Luis Obispo and other counties, at elevations of 30-1255 m.
What plant family does Viola odorata belong to?
Viola odorata is in the Violaceae family, genus Viola.
What habitat does Viola odorata grow in?
Viola odorata grows in Garden escape reported in shady, moist areas generally in riparian habitats.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.