Plants and People Project

Common Violet - Viola

Low growing herb with heart shaped leaves. Field Guide to North American Wildflowers

The flowers of wild violet have five petals and are usually purple, but can also be white or yellow.

" This lovely plant also makes a good salad. High in vitamins A and C it used to be a very welcome raw salad or cooked green early in the spring when fresh vegetables were hard to come by. The flowers are more often used nowadays. They can be candied and also used in jellies. " Waddell School

The chief use of the Violet in these days is as a colouring agent and perfume, and as the source of the medicinally employed Syrup of Violets. Botanical.com

"The seeds, separated from the rest of the fruit, were eaten by Native Americans raw or as toppings on deserts, tastes like Butternuts." NativeTech.org

Violets prefers moist shade.

Violets are the larval host plant for Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly .

DISCLAIMER: These pages are presented solely as a source of INFORMATION and ENTERTAINMENT. No claims are made for the efficacy of any herb nor for any historical herbal treatment. In no way can the information provided here take the place of the standard, legal, medical practice of any country. Additionally, some of these plants are extremely toxic and should be used only by licensed professionals who have the means to process them properly into appropriate pharmaceuticals. One final note: many plants were used for a wide range of illnesses in the past. Be aware that many of the historical uses have proven to be ineffective for the problems to which they were applied.

Identification and other facts / More facts / Wikipedia

Violets

Purple blooming common violets

Labrador Violet - note the purple tinted leaves