BACK to Plant Index BACK to Plant Index
Common Blue Violet
(calledViola papilionacea
in Audubon Guide)
(called Viola sororia in Wyman's)
VY-o-la
is how Wyman says to pronounce it;
I say it vy-O-la and probably always will.
Butterfly Violet
This is a native plant.
This lovely plant also makes a good salad. High in vitamins A and C it used to be a very welcome raw salad or cooked green early in the spring when fresh vegetables were hard to come by. The flowers are more often used nowadays. They can be candied and also used in jellies.
The flower grows on its own stem. There are also special flowers that stay near the ground and do not open...but they still produce bazillions of seeds!
This fine plant is often viewed as a pest because it invades lawns. I have been told that indicates your soil is too acid for a good lawn....so you should lime it more (get a soil test to find out how much if you want to).
You can get a feel for the violet clump's size from this photo.
Study Pointers:
- Books tell us that the violet has 5 petals. The lower on is "spurred". Take a magnifying glass outside to examine the flower to see what is meant by spurred. Or ask your teacher if you might pick one to bring into school so everyone can study this beautiful flower.
to Schoolyard Habitat Index
to Waddell School Introduction Page
to What's New! at the school
This site designed and maintained by Emma Craib
who welcomes your
comments and suggestions !