The Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia), a native of North America, appears from mid-April into June in open woods, forest edges, meadows, moist stream sides, and roadsides, and is quite common along some stretches of the GAP, at least where the margins have not been mowed. Each flower has five petals: a lower petal marked with darker veins and bearing a short spur, two lateral petals often bearded, and two upper petals more or less erect or spreading. Flowers are roughly a half inch across. The flowers and leaves of the Common Blue Violet are edible and have historically been used as food, but nowadays the plant is more valued for its aesthetic qualities, adding a lovely splash of blue to the mid-Spring palette of wildflowers.
