Viola pedata (Birdfoot violet)

Viola pedata is known by the common name Birdfoot Violet, or by variants of that name. I’d never seen Viola pedata in bloom – until last week. By accident, I found a couple of plants blooming on a red clay embankment by a rural road in Coosa County in Alabama.

The plant. The leaves are diagnostic.

The flower.

Viola pedata (Bird-foot Violet) is native to the eastern United States and Canada from New England and Ontario to Texas. In Georgia, it’s found in counties throughout the state except for the coastal and extreme southern counties. I’ve seen plants at Harbins Park in Gwinnett Country but not in bloom.
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Distribution:
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database: Viola pedata (Birdfoot Violet)
- University of North Carolina Herbarium: Viola pedata

Identification resources:
- Southeastern Flora: Viola pedata (Bird-foot Violet)
- Missouri Plants: Viola pedata
- Natural and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Viola pedata (Bird’s-foot Violet)

Related posts:
- 2010: Year Of The Wildflower – Wildflower Index