Viola sororia Willd.

Common blue violet, woolly blue violet, common wood violet, broad-leaved wood violet

About plant names...

These hardy, abundant perennials poke up early in the spring. They are common in woods, thickets, stream banks, pastures, and disturbed soils. They seem happiest in partial shade, but if there is enough dampness in the soil, they tolerate full sun.

Plants: Plants are low to the ground, about 4-8" (10-20 cm) high and 6" (15 cm) around.

Leaves: Leaves are up to 3" (7.6 cm) long, usually closer to 1" (2.5 cm), on long petioles (stems). They are usually dark green, but may appear lighter and more yellowish under full sun. They are roughly heart-shaped, with crenate or serrate edges. Some are hairy; some aren’t.

Flowers: Flowers are a shade of violet or blue, rarely white, and even more rarely bicolored. They are about ¾-1" (1.9-2.5 cm) in size, have a total of five petals, and have bilateral symmetry. That’s fancy botanist talk for mirror images: if you cut the flower in half vertically, the two sides are mirror images of each other. There are two petals on top, and two lower side petals, and a bottom petal that serves as a landing strip for visiting pollinators. The two side petals have white hairs near the center of the flower. Flowers appear from March to June. They tend to droop. Flowers and leaves are on separate stems. Although the genus, Viola, means sweet-scented, common violets have no detectable odor.

Fruits: Three-part whitish seed capsules dry and explode, flinging lots of seeds.

Edibility: Violet leaves are high in vitamins A and C, and are cooked as greens or added raw to salads. Flowers can be used to make candies or jellies.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

Gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org

EFloras

Michiganflora.net

4/22/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 3½ × 3½" (9.3 × 9.3 cm)

5/6/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

4/27/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3 × 3½" (8.3 × 9.3 cm)

5/6/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

5/6/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

4/8/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Monkton Rd, Sparks, Mary­land
≈ 8 × 7" (20 × 16 cm)

5/16/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Action, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

4/8/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Monkton Rd, Sparks, Mary­land
≈ 4½ × 5" (11 × 12 cm)

5/6/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine
≈ 8 × 6" (19 × 16 cm)

5/7/2013 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 4" (11 × 10 cm)

5/9/2021 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 10 × 6" (24 × 16 cm)

4/23/2016 · Big Tree/Porcupine Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 5" (16 × 12 cm)

Viola sororia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 23 Sep 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

7/29/2023 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

5/6/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

4/27/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 9" (18 × 22 cm)

5/4/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.9 cm)

5/6/2021 · Tarbox Preserve, Topsham, Maine
≈ 5 × 7" (13 × 18 cm)

4/8/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Monkton Rd, Sparks, Mary­land
≈ 6 × 4" (14 × 10 cm)

4/27/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

4/28/2016 · Old Long Loop, Beaver Brook Stat, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

7/29/2023 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

5/6/2016 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

5/7/2013 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 5" (14 × 13 cm)

5/16/2014 · Acton Arboretum, Action, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

4/8/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Monkton Rd, Sparks, Mary­land
≈ 11 × 10" (28 × 26 cm)

5/4/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, East Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 2½ × 1¾" (6.3 × 5 cm)

4/8/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 15 × 10" (39 × 26 cm)

5/9/2021 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 8 × 6" (21 × 14 cm)

Range: Zones 3-7:

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