Viola adunca
| Viola adunca | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Viola adunca (common name: western dog violet)
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.
Cultivation: Prefers a cool moist well-drained humus-rich soil in partial or dappled shade and protection from scorching winds. Tolerates sandstone and limestone soils but becomes chlorotic if the pH is too high. Prefers a pH between 6 and 6.5[1].
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[2][3][4].
There is at least one named form selected for its ornamental value[1]. 'Alba' has white flowers[1].
Flowers formed late in the season are cleistogamous (lacking petals, the flowers do not open but are self-pollinated)[5].
Range: Eastern and Western N. America - Alaska to California, also Ontario to Quebec and New Brunswick.
Habitat: Damp banks and edges of meadows in most forest communities, 1500 - 2400 metres from Alaska to N. California[6].
Edibility: Young leaves and flower buds - raw or cooked[7][8]. When added to soup they thicken it in much the same way as okra[2][3][4].
A tea can be made from the dried leaves[8].
Medicinal: An infusion of the leaves and roots has been used to treat stomach problems and asthma in children[9]. An infusion of the roots and leaves has been used as a wash and poultice on sore and swollen joints[9]. The roots and leaves have been chewed by women during childbirth[9].
A poultice of the chewed leaves has been applied to sore eyes[9].
A poultice of the crushed flowers has been applied to the side or chest in the treatment of pain[9].
Usage: A blue dye can be obtained from the flowers[9].
Pollinators: Insects, cleistogamous
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.