Viola cornuta
| Viola cornuta | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Viola cornuta (common name: horned 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 well-drained moisture-retentive soil[2]. Tolerates sandstone and limestone soils but becomes chlorotic if the pH is too high. Prefers a pH between 6 and 6.5[3].
A very ornamental plant, there are many named forms[3]. If the plants are cut back after flowering they will flower again in late summer[4].
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[5][6][7]. This species has deep-violet flowers[1].
Range: S. W. Europe - Spain, Pyrenees. Occasionally naturalized in Britain.
Habitat: Mountain pastures.
Edibility: Young leaves and flower buds - raw or cooked[8]. When added to soup they thicken it in much the same way as okra[6][7].
Flowers - raw[8].
A tea can be made from the leaves[6].
Usage: A useful ground cover plant for a cool open situation[9]. It needs weeding for the first year or two[9] but then forms an effective weed-excluding cover[1]. Plants are best spaced about 60cm apart each way[4].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Napier, Elspeth. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells, 1989.