Viola striata – Striped Cream Violet

If you look closely at a flower you’ll see the purple stripes and creamy white color that give this plant its name. The effect in the garden though is of a pure white violet. Like most violets it self-sows and can be effectively used as a ground cover around taller woodland plants. Indigenous to our north and east (Greene and Dutchess Counties), it’s preference for circumneutral soil makes it more likely to be seen in central and western New York.