One of the first spring wildflowers you’ll see — perhaps even before the last shaded patches of snow disappear — is the violet. This common flower, which blooms from April through June, is widely known and easily identified. There is more than one violet, however. The genus Viola contains some 500 species, including about 30 in the northeastern states and eastern Canada. It’s a large, varied, and fascinating group. Violets grow everywhere from sea level to the highest mountaintops, in meadows and marshes, a … (read more)
