Viola sororia is a species of Violaceae,
a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Violet family.
Viola sororia, known as the Common Blue
Violet, is a stem-less herbaceous hardy perennial plant that is native to
eastern North America. It is known by a number of common names including;
Common Meadow Violet, Purple Violet, Woolly Blue Violet, Hooded Violet and Wood
Violet.
Violets grows easily in all types of soils
and are a good choice for a shady or woodland garden or if you are looking for
a quick natural look to a garden. Violets can be aggressive and easily invade
lawns, but are an excellent choice for a ground cover. This is a very early
flowering violet; it blooms from April to June.
Viola sororia have heart-shaped, scalloped
dark green leaves and pretty blue violet flowers that droop from slender stems.
The plant propagates on horizontal runners that root every 3 to 5 inches.
Violets are the host plants for Fritillary
butterflies. Like many other butterflies, their caterpillars are very selective
about what they eat. They do not go for milkweeds as do monarchs; they prefer
violets instead. Without violets, there would be no more of those pretty orange
and black speckled butterflies.
As well as being used as a common garden
plant, Viola sororia has historically been used for food and folk medicine. The
flowers picked in early spring when newly opened can be eaten raw in salads or
crystallized and used to decorate cakes. The viola flowers can be taken fresh
or dried in an infusion to help coughs and bronchitis and also used for
soothing nerves, headaches and insomnia.
Herbalists claim that an infusion of dried leaves or dried
roots of the viola can alleviate catarrh and bronchitis.
