Viola sempervirens , known by the common names Redwood Violet and Evergreen Violet, is a species in the genus Viola. It is native to the West Coast of the United States and British Columbia, Canada. Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae, with around 400 500 species distributed around the world. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, viola species (commonly called violets, pansies or heartsease) are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in South America.