Common Blue Violet, Viola papilionacea or V. sororia, is both edible and medicinal and has even been used as an insecticide. The flowers and leaves are both edible and rich in vitamin’s A and C. Medicinally, it has been used for dysentery, blood, colds, coughs, headaches and as a spring tonic.

Common Blue Violet Sources:

Audubon Guides Box Set – Birds, Tree, Wildflowers & Mammals. Computer Software.Green Mountain Digital. Version: 2.3. Web. Jul 10, 2014.

Brill, Steve. Wild Edibles Plus. Computer Software. WinterRoot LLC. Version 1.5. 2012. Web. Feb. 15, 2014.

Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey. Cherokee Plants and Their Uses- A 400 Year History. North Carolina: Herald Publishing. 1975. Print. pg. 60

Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Portland: Timber Press. 1998. Print. pg. 597

Newcomb, Lawrence. Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1977. Print. pg. 30-31

Peterson, Lee Allen. The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants; Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. Print. pg. 132-133, pl. 2

United States Department of Agriculture. Natural Resources Conservation Services. Web.