Lesson 12: Violet
Comments
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Love this plant. I agree with you how wonderful this plant is. Its also one of ther first to bloom here so it lightens my heart.
There are several huge patches in the back yard by the creek. When I mow in the spring I leave these alone. My yard looks a bit weird with all these non mowed patches
Thank you
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One of my very favorites! Love to make a violet simple syrup to add to tea, or ice cream, or other treats!
It's so pretty, and tastes nice.
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Looks like it is Viola adunca that you have. Early Blue Violet aka Western Dog Violet, Purple Violet, Sand Violet.
It is one of the species I have here and it is just starting to come up in my yard. I had to look really hard and nearly needed a magnifying glass but I found one yesterday. It will be a bit before they are big enough to flower.
We also have the Canada or White Violet, V. canadensis, and Stream or Yellow Violet, V. glabella. Both are quite a bit taller than this little guy, with bigger leaves. So easier to pick a salad. :)
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I love sweet violet as an edible, and I knew it was good for you, but I did not realize how good.--what an impressive range of medicinal uses for one little plant! Wild violets are blooming abundantly here right now. I need to get busy gathering.
I think Viola adunca is mostly what I have on my place. Are the different wild violets pretty much interchangeable in their culinary and medicinal uses?
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Yeah, I think so... its a small one
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Yes, they are... good stuff!
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I was thrilled to find enormous patches of violets maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago. However, I’d never seen them before and wasn’t prepared to actually do anything with them! But maybe I’ll go out in the morning and see if there’s enough left to dry for tea.
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Pretty!
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@judsoncarroll4 thank you for sharing. Last use o found tons of them but didn’t know what to do with them. Hopefully they will turn up again this year; I know better now lol...
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They are starting comming here as well. The most common is the dog violet - the one which is beautiful, but has no smell. Viola odorata - the sweet violet - I planted in my garden. Now it spread and I love the smell. Some people put blossoms in ice cubes, some in sugar for decorating deserts. I just love the smell and leave the blossoms for my bees.
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@jolanta.wittib mentioned candied violets - I found a recipe:
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Does anyone know where to look for violet seeds, preferably plants? Is it difficult to start them from seed? I grew them in the North West, can't find them anywhere on line so I know I'm just not finding what's out there. They are such happy plants and I found the very easy to care for. I'm glad you started this thread..been trying to find plants for some time..
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Strictly Medicinal has some Search Results for “violet” | Strictly Medicinal Seeds
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@judsoncarroll4 I have their catalogue and have been going through it for an order so thanks so much...esp in case I over looked it I know now they carry it..
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That looks delicious! I think they would be beautiful on cakes ❤
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Candied Violets are stunning on cakes. It adds such a unique and personal look
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@karenjanicki Yes, as Denise Grant says---Beautiful candied on cakes.
I think the fresh ones make a salad look so appealing!
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Great information on the medicinal properties of violets! I was not aware that one could eat the entire plant.
Is the African violet also edible? Or is it a different plant altogether?
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While I don't know if African Violets are actually toxic, they are a different plant and not considered to be edible.
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African Violets are from the Gesneriaceae family and are no relation to Violets in the Viola genus which is in the Violaceae family. They are even in different orders.
I don't know of any medicinal uses. Not toxic but not known to be edible. But I will do more research to see if I can find anything.
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Thanks for posting this. Not only did I find the violet seeds I need/want.. but I also got some comfrey roots... so excited to get them.
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I just came back from a foraging walk in my woods, where I found a large patch of yellow violets! New plant to me, don't remember ever finding any before. Just checked Dept. of Conservation website, which says there is only one native yellow violet in MO, Viola pubescens, formerly V. pennsylvanica. But it doesn't say anything else, other than giving a description of the plant. It is quite a large patch, so I harvested a few leaves and flowers, to compare them with the purple violets that are everywhere right now. Nature is truly wonderful. I've been walking in those woods for 30 years now, and there are still new things to find!
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That is what makes every day an adventure!
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I love the fact that pansies, violet and violas are all in the same family. Mine survived the winter with no covering and are brilliantly colored right now. Each time I pass them, I pick a different color flower to eat somehow thinking each color contains different nutrients, so it's like taking different supplements.
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Pansies were often grown on old homesteads around here to help keep pests out of the garden, too.
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Today I collected some viola odorata blossoms and made a tincture. Basically I want to conserve the scent of the flower. Has anybody tried tincture. Does the scent remain in alcohol?
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Yes. not as strong as essential oil, but it is there.
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@judsoncarroll4 glad to hear that.
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Rosalee de la Foret just posted a new article on Violets with a recipe for Violet Syrup and a Violet E-book. There is a video to watch, too.
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@torey I saw that! I haven't seen any blooming here yet. By the looks of past violet threads (there are quite a few on here), I will be finding them sometime this month. I was looking more for a date when looking up my one thread, but that's all I found was "May".
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