Viola sororia

Viola sororia

This plant supports Fritillary butterfly larvae. Nectar from the flowers attract butterflies and bees. Members of the genus Viola support the following specialized bees: Andrena (Gonandrena) fragilis, Andrena (Gonandrena) integra, and Andrena (Gonandrena) platyparia. This plant is resistant to damage by deer. Butterflies and moths use this plant as a larval host. Birds and small mammals use the seed fruits as a food source.A perennial herbaceous plant with shiny leaves that come out of the rhizomes of the root system. It flowers in the spring and creates many seed in the process. Commonly found throughout the states of the U.S., Viola sororia's many uses include being a backyard groundcover, ideal for providing nectar for the many species of pollinators like bees and butterflies. Dried specimens are sometimes used as a fragrant groundcover for flower gardens.

Viola

. It has pubescent foliage, and usually some of the leaf blades show obscure lateral lobes separated by short sinuses (the first leaves and late season leaves are unlobed). Some forms of this plant (including the type of Viola populifolia) have broad-ovate leaf blades with a shallow basal sinus, a form that could easily be confused with V. sororia, but the cleistogamous capsules will show very few well-formed seeds. Such plants usually also show a broad, but shallow, indentation on each lateral margin of the leaf blade, suggesting a very weak lobing of the blade.It would most likely be confused with Viola subsinuata but has reduced lobes on the later leaves (leaf blades with median lobes 4–12 mm long rather than 6–37 mm in V. subsinuata). Further, the early leaves tend to be obscurely lobed (rather than more evidently lobed in V. subsinuata). The flowers and young leaves of the common violet are edible. Viola (violets, violas and pansies) are among the most popular edible flowers in America--and with good reason.

Not only are these beautiful little flowers easy to grow, but they are also among the few flowers that actually taste good. The flowers make a nice addition to salads, can be used as a garnish, or made into candies and jellies. Violet leaves are high in vitamins A and C and can be used in salads or cooked like spinach.There is debate in the botanical community regarding the variation of flower color and fuzziness of stem in Viola sororia. Some argue each morphology represents an individual species, while others argue they are indeed all one species. More study is needed to verify the taxonomic classification of these similar plants.Viola sororia, known as the common blue violet, is a stemless herbaceous perennial in the Violaceae family. Its showy flowers has led to it being named as state flower for several states. It appears in woods, thickets, and along streambeds, especially in shadier areas. It has glossy green heart-shaped leaves that emerge directly from the rhizomes. (Source:plants.ces.ncsu.edu)