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Viola labradorica - Schrank.

Labrador Violet

Author	Schrank.	Botanical references	200
Family	Violaceae	Genus	Viola
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	North-eastern N. America - Labrador, south to the mountains of Maine, New Hampshire and New York.
Habitat	Woods and grassy places[187].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	0 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Perennial growing to 0.1m by 0.3m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Deep Shade; Ground Cover;

Cultivars: (as above except)
'Purpurea'

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves.

Edible Uses: Tea.

Young leaves and flower buds - raw or cooked[105]. A mild flavour, though the leaves soon become quite tough[K]. The leaves make a very acceptable addition to salads[K]. When added to soup they thicken it in much the same way as okra[85, 159]. A tea can be made from the leaves[85].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

None known

Other Uses

Ground cover.

A good ground cover plant, fast spreading but slow to thicken up and may need weeding for the first year or so[197]. Plants should be spaced about 30cm apart each way[208].

Cultivation details

Cool moist well-drained humus-rich soil in partial or dappled shade and protection from scorching winds. Succeeds in dense shade[197]. Tolerates sandstone and limestone soils but becomes chlorotic if the pH is too high. Prefers a pH between 6 and 6.5. Hardy to about -25°c[187]. There are some named varieties selected for their ornamental value[200]. All members of this genus have more or less edible leaves and flower buds, though those species with yellow flowers can cause diarrhoea if eaten in large quantities[62, 85, 159].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in the autumn in a cold frame. Sow stored seed in early spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in the autumn or just after flowering. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, though we have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.

Cultivars

'Purpurea'

A purple-leaved cultivar[200].

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Ground cover plants..

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Viola labradorica

Terence A Cox Sun Aug 23 2009

I have had this plant in my garden for many years initially in a group of alpine plants. however I am now finding these plants all over my garden and the only way I've found to control it is by using a weedkiller. No where can I found reference to the fact that the plant can be so invasive.

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