Photo by Zihao Wang on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · photographed specimen identified as Viola affinis, a close relative
Wild violets
Viola sororia
- When
- Typically April – May — April, May. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Lawns, woodland edges, shaded banks.
- How to know it
- Heart-shaped leaves and five-petalled purple flowers, each on its own leafless stalk straight from the ground.
- Look-alikes
- African violets are unrelated houseplants. Nothing dangerous, but avoid sprayed lawns.
- Harvest and use
- Flowers candied or in salad; young leaves mild and mucilaginous in soup.
Found in these regions
Is it ready near you?
Get this week's foraging guide for your area
Enter a town, postal code or ZIP and we'll tell you what's in season right there this week — from your local climate, this week's weather and your ecological region.
Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.