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Viola odorata - L.

Sweet Violet

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Violaceae	Genus	Viola
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to N. Africa, W. Asia and Syria.
Habitat	Fields, hedgerows and woodlands, especially on calcareous soils[7, 17, 31].
Edibility Rating	5 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Perennial growing to 0.1m by 0.45m.

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

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Ground Cover; Hedgerow; Cultivated Beds; North Wall In; East Wall In; South Wall In; West Wall In;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves.

Edible Uses: Condiment; Tea.

Young leaves and flower buds - raw or cooked[21, 85, 183]. Usually available all through the winter[K]. The leaves have a very mild flavour, though they soon become quite tough as they grow older. They make a very good salad, their mild flavour enabling them to be used in bulk whilst other stronger-tasting leaves can then be added to give more flavour[K]. When added to soup they thicken it in much the same way as okra[62, 85, 159]. Also used as a flavouring in puddings etc. A tea can be made from the leaves[85]. Flowers - raw. Used to decorate salads and desserts[5, 9, 85]. A sweet mild flavour with a delicate perfume, the flowers are an especially welcome decoration for the salad bowl since they are available in late winter[K]. The flowers are also used fresh to flavour and colour confectionery[238]. A soothing tea can be made from the leaves and flowers[85, 183]. A leaf extract is used to flavour sweets, baked goods and ice cream[183].

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.

Antiinflammatory; Cancer; Demulcent; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Emetic; Emollient; Expectorant; Homeopathy; Laxative; Purgative.

Sweet violet has a long and proven history of folk use, especially in the treatment of cancer and whooping cough[4, 165, 218]. It also contains salicylic acid, which is used to make aspirin[244]. It is therefore effective in the treatment of headaches, migraine and insomnia[244]. The whole plant is anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient, expectorant, and laxative[4, 7, 21, 46, 165]. It is taken internally in the treatment of bronchitis, respiratory catarrh, coughs, asthma, and cancer of the breast, lungs or digestive tract[238]. Externally, it is used to treat mouth and throat infections[238]. The plant can either be used fresh, or harvested when it comes into flower and then be dried for later use[4]. The flowers are demulcent and emollient[240]. They are used in the treatment of biliousness and lung troubles[240]. The petals are made into a syrup and used in the treatment of infantile disorders[240]. The roots is a much stronger expectorant than other parts of the plant but they also contain the alkaloid violine which at higher doses is strongly emetic and purgative[4, 244, 254]. They are gathered in the autumn and dried for later use[7]. The seeds are diuretic and purgative. They have been used in the treatment of urinary complaints are considered to be a good remedy for gravel[4]. A homeopathic remedy is made from the whole fresh plant[4]. It is considered useful in the treatment of spasmodic coughs and rheumatism of the wrist[4]. An essential oil from the flowers is used in aromatherapy in the treatment of bronchial complaints, exhaustion and skin complaints[238].

Other Uses

Essential; Ground cover; Litmus.

An essential oil from the flowers and leaves is used in perfumery[57, 100]. 1000kg of leaves produces about 300 - 400g absolute[46]. The flowers are used to flavour breath fresheners[238]. A pigment extracted from the flowers is used as a litmus to test for acids and alkalines[4, 13, 100, 115]. Plants can be grown as a ground cover when spaced about 30cm apart each way[208]. They make an effective weed-excluding cover[K].

Scented Plants

Flowers: Fresh

The flowers have a delicate sweet scent.

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils but prefers a cool moist well-drained humus-rich soil in partial or dappled shade and protection from scorching winds[1, 14, 31, 200]. When grown in the open it prefers a moderately heavy rich soil[1]. Plants have done very well in a hot dry sunny position on our Cornish trial grounds[K]. Tolerates sandstone and limestone soils. Plants are hardy to about -20°c[187]. Sweet violets are very ornamental plants, there are many named varieties[187]. They produce their delicately scented flowers in late winter and early spring - these are designed for fertilisation by bees and since there are few bees around at this time of year these flowers seldom set seed[4]. However, the plants also produce a second type of flower later in the year. These never open, but seed is produced within them by self-fertilization[4]. The plants will often self-sow freely when well-sited[188]. They can also spread fairly rapidly at the roots when they are growing well[K]. Responds well to an annual replanting in rich loose leafy soils[187]. 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. The seed requires a period of cold stratification and the germination of stored seed can be erratic. 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

There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Why Perennials, Winter Salads, Woodland Garden Plants, Plants for Problem Places - North Facing Walls and Deep Shade, Edible Flowers, The Potted Garden, Viola odorata - Sweet Violet, The Woodland Edge Garden.

References

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

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland. 0

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man. 0
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[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.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 0
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[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.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. 0
An excellent small herbal.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[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.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[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.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

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 odorata

Tue Jun 17 2008

theflowerexpert

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