Viola sororia ( vy-OH-lə sə-ROR-ee-ə), known commonly as the common blue violet, is a short-stemmed herbaceous perennial plant native to eastern North America. It is known by a number of common names, including common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, hooded violet, and wood violet.

This perennial plant is distributed in the eastern half of the United States, Canada, and a part of eastern Mexico. Its native habitats are rich, moist woods, and swamps located in the eastern half of the United States and Canada. Its cultivar 'Albiflora' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Self-seeding freely in lawns and gardens, it can be considered a weed by some. Cleistogamous seed heads may also appear on short stems in late summer and early autumn.

...