Viola sororia
| Viola sororia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Blooms: | Early Spring-Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Viola sororia (common name: wooly blue 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.
There are a number of named varieties selected for their ornamental value[1].
Plants produce cleistogamous flowers as well as the usual insect pollinated flowers[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].
Range: Eastern N. America - Quebec to Wyoming and south to Oklahoma and N. Carolina.
Habitat: Moist meadows, low woods and shady banks[5][1], often on sandy substrates[6].
Edibility: Young leaves and flower buds - raw or cooked[4][7]. The leaves are often mixed with stronger tasting leaves from the cabbage family[8]. When added to soup they thicken it in much the same way as Okra[2][3][4][8]. The leaves are rich in vitamins A and C[4][8].
Flowers - raw. Rich in vitamin C[4].The flowers can also be made into jams, jellies etc[8].
A tea can be made from the leaves[3] or from the flowers[4].
Medicinal: A poultice of the leaves has been used to allay the pain of a headache[9].
An infusion of the plant has been used in the treatment of dysentery, coughs and colds[9].
A poultice of the crushed root has been applied to boils[9].
Usage: An infusion of the root has been used to soak corn seeds before planting in order to keep off insects[9].
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 1.2 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.