Above: Wood Violets near Council Ring, the Oak Savanna and also the Duck Pond. (5/17/19).
Wood Violets - Viola papilionacea (The Wisconsin state flower)
Wood Violet is a short-stemmed herbaceous perennial plant that is native to eastern North America.
Wood violet flowers are irregular in shape and the flowers are deep blue/purple or violet, and sometimes almost white with blue markings. Wood violet flowers have side petals having beards or tuffs near the center of the flower.
There are 5 petals in which lower one is longer and spurred, and the 2 petals having fine hairs.
Other names include: common blue violet, common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet and hooded violet.
NOTE: The taxonomy of the plant is questionable and some authors place the plant as a variety of V. sororia. Wikipedia considers the Viola papilionacea a synonym for the Violet sororia.
A form with white flowers that have a purple center has been called Viola sororia fo. priceana (Confederate violet).
Viola: a classical Latin name for violets
Violet flowers and young leaves are edible with the leaves having a high level of vitamins A and C.
Above: Wood Violets near Council Ring, the Oak Savanna and also the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on May 3, 2019.
Above: Wood Violets near Council Ring, the Oak Savanna and also the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on May 7, 2019.
For more information on the Wood Violet, visit Wikipedia.
Or, visit the UW-Madison Wisconsin State Herbarium website page about Wood Violet - Viola sororia.
Wood Violet
Viola papilionacea
Above: Wood Violets near Council Ring, the Oak Savanna and also the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on April 21, 2019.
Above: Wood Violets near Council Ring, the Oak Savanna and also the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on April 24, 2019.
Above: Wood Violets near the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on April 25, 2019.
Above: Wood Violets near the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on May 4, 2019.
Above: Wood Violets near the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on May 5, 2019.
Above: Wood Violets near the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on May 14, 2019.
Above: Wood Violets near the Duck Pond in Madison, Wisconsin on May 15, 2018.
Above: 1913 drawing of Viola papilionacea.
Above: Botanical illustration of Viola odorata (sweet violet) by Carl Axel Magnus Lindman cira 1901-1905.