Violet, Common Blue - Viola sororia

Viola sororia, also known as Common Blue Violet, is a perennial wildflower native to Michigan.  It naturalizes well into lawns and is a good early season nectar source.  Plant reaches 1' tall and flowers from May to June with a purple blossom. It is not uncommon to have a second bloom in the fall. Flowers and leaves are edible, although accounts vary as to whether they are "delightful" or "bland."
 
Violets prefer partial sun and medium soil, but will grow in full sun to full shade, tolerate medium-wet to medium-dry soil and will grow in both loam and sand. These can be an important component of a bee lawn, as there are bees that specialize just in violets. Can be mowed. Reseeds well. Can be used in rock gardens, along borders, in lawns, and as a matrix plant between and under taller plants,
 
Violets are the host plant for Fritillary butterflies:
"In the fall, Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly caterpillars hatch out of eggs, eat their eggshell, and drop off their host plant into the leaf litter to diapause as tiny hatchlings. Once the host plants, violets, sprout new leaves in the spring, caterpillars will start eating and resume their growth."
From Where Are All the Butterflies Now.  
Did you know? The UP is home to one of nine subspecies of fritillary; ours is is a creamy tan instead of orange (picture taken in our lawn).