Viola canadensis
| Viola canadensis | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Viola canadensis (common name: canada 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: Easily grown in any fertile soil in full sun or partial shade[1]. Prefers a cool position[1] in a 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.
Hardy to about -25°c[2].
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[3][4][5]. This species has mainly white flowers that are at first yellowish at the base then turn violet[6].
There are some named varieties selected for their ornamental value[7].
Range: N. America - Saskatchewan and south to Nebraska and the Rocky mountains.
Habitat: Rich soils in deciduous woods and forests in the mountains[8][3][2].
Edibility: Young leaves and flower buds - raw or cooked[3][9][10]. A very mild flavour, when boiled as greens they are best mixed with other stronger tasting leaves[10]. When added to soup they thicken it in much the same way as okra[3][4][5].
The leaves are a good tea substitute[3][4][10].
Medicinal: A tea made from the roots has been used in the treatment of pain in the bladder region[6][11].
The roots and leaves have traditionally been used to induce vomiting, they have also been poulticed and applied to skin abrasions and boils[6].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.