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Wildflower Uses
Many wildflowers are edible, used in medicines, or both. For example, the wildflower Foxglove is the plant a hybrid was bred from for the heart medicine digitalis. The Wild Plum is the tree that most hybrid commercial plum trees came from. But long before humans learned to hybridize plants, the Native Americans and wildlife knew the value of wildflowers for food and medicine. Don't eat any wild plant unless you are with someone who knows what is safe for human consumption. While you may see animals eat a plant, that does not mean it is safe for humans.

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Canada Violet (Viola canadensis )
This violet grows on slopes, ledges, and rocky open areas. Pedal shapes and colors will vary some. Large colonies are not as common as with other violets. However several scattered plants within an area is common.

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Wood Violet (Viola pedata)
Several species of Violet grow in the Ozarks. Sometimes it can be very hard to tell them apart. Colors vary widely, as do leaf and pedal shapes and sizes. All are colorful. Large colonies are not unusual. Most species grow in light shade but the Wood Violet prefers heavier shade levels. It blooms from March through May, with a few blooms occurring all year.

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What The Heck is This ( Whathellamus Heckis Thisfolia)
It could be a white violet. Or is it a Johnny-Jump-Up? Or a Canada Violet cross-pollinated? But the color is not right, nor is the pedal shape. Sometimes you run into such problems with wildflower identification. Such variations in common wildflowers is what many wildflower enthusiasts enjoy in the Ozark Mountains.

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Rose Vervain (Verbena canadensis)
The name comes from the color as well as the fragrance, which is not rose scented, but is sweet. Rose Vervain is very common in early spring and grows in large colonies in open rocky areas. The low bushy plants grow to about a foot high with large blossom clusters.

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