This fruit is edible once it ripens in mid-summer.
You can distinguish this plant from wood violet by looking for its flower.
Here is an interesting story of this flower from the USDA Forest Service website.
"The color and the location of the flower have an unusual and interesting story. The flower evolved to attract small pollinating flies that emerge from the ground early in the spring looking for a thawing carcass of an animal that did not survive the winter. By lying next to the ground flower is readily found by the emerging flies. The color of the flower is similar to that of decomposing flesh. Whether these flies pollinate the flower or not is in some dispute. Never the less they do enter the flower to escape the cold winds of early spring and to feast upon the flowers pollen. Some of the pollen attaches to their bodies and is taken with them when they visit the next flower."
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/asarum_canadense.shtml
The yellow flowers of this plant are distinct, drooping downward with long, yellow petals.
Five petaled, pink-purple flowers and leaves that are palm shaped.
You will also find the regular wood violet that has purple flowers in our woods.
We continue to battle the garlic mustard. This fast growing invasive plant shades out our other native plants by dominating the understory of the forest especially in sunny areas.
We encourage any classroom that wants to work on pulling it to do so!
Our garlic mustard pulling efforts over many years have really made a difference in our woods!