The seeds are diuretic and are supposed to be a good corrective for gravel. In addition to their medicinal uses, the flowers can be eaten in salads; crystallized as beautiful candies; added to vinegar to impart color and fragrance; made into a rare and delicate jelly; boiled, pressed, pounded, and mixed with milk, rice flour and sugar into a porridge; and even fermented to produce a sweet wine.
Since the blue color is released by infusion, violets have been used to create delicate eyeshadows and fragrant, tinted skin lotions. A curious feature of the infused color is its property of turning red when in contact with acid, and green when in contact with an alkali.
Because of this reaction, it has been used as a substitute for litmus. Violets are fond of deep, humus-rich and slightly sandy soil, and prefer moist, shaded locations such as those found in open areas under trees. They are easily propagated from seed, cuttings or — more usually — by division of the creeping rhizome in spring or fall.
Join us for a much anticipated return to the Lone Star State! Earlybird ticket discounts are now available online. You'll find tips for slashing heating bills, growing fresh, natural produce at home, and more. That's why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing through our earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. Sweet Violets: Edible Flowers, Medicinal Plants Sweet violets are edible flowers that can be used in a variety of medicinal and culinary ways, includes sweet violet syrup and infusion recipes.
Sweet violets are edible flowers that can also be used for medicinal purposes. Find sweet violets in moist, shaded locations with deep, slightly sandy soil. Continue Reading. Violets Viola Violaceae Violets have been recorded in recipes since the 16th century, their smell is very evocative of sweets or perfume for many. When do violets flower?
How many types of violets are there? Are all violets edible? Which are the best violets to eat? Do violets have any health benefits? Which parts of violets are edible? How to use violets in food? Where next? Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Upcoming events. Become a Member Love foraging? Membership Membership account.
Log out. Wild Blog Posts. How to Make Wild Cleaver Coffee. Wild Food: Hairy Bittercress. Sticky Sloe and Nut Clusters. Blackberry Seeded Bread recipe. First Name: Email address: Privacy policy. Rachel's books. Seaweed Foraging Book. Topically, violet is used as a poultice, compress, infused oil, and salve for dry or chafed skin, abrasions, insect bites, eczema, varicose veins and hemorrhoids. It is cooling, soothing, and anti-inflammatory. See my articles on the topical uses of calendula for infused oil , salve , and poultice recipes.
If you're interested in learning more about foraging, wild edibles, and medicinals, please check out our Online Foraging Course and Herbal Immersion Program. She's been a professional plant-human matchmaker for close to three decades. Juliet caught the plant bug when she was nineteen and went on to earn a degree in Botany. She's owned just about every type of herbal business you can imagine: an herbal nursery, a medicinal products business, a clinical practice, and now, an herbal school.
These days, she channels her botanical obsession with her writing and photography in her online programs and here on her personal blog, Castanea. Juliet and her houseplants share a home with her family and herb books in Asheville, North Carolina. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine and chestnutherbs.
Looking for more blog articles about foraging? Tools, field guides, harvesting ethics, and a primer on sustainable wildcrafting are all requisite. Browse our library of resources to start foraging on the right foot! There are sites saying not to eat them, do you know a reason for this? I have also seen a site saying you can eat the flowers and leaves. Do they have higher saponin levels?
We have lots of yellow violets in the wild, but no purple or blue violets. If you know anything about the topic, that would help. So I wanted to make an infused oil for salves with violets. You mentioned that tincture is not a good option but vinegar is. What about olive oil? Curious as to the extraction ability? Yes, violet-infused olive oil is a wonderful preparation for the skin! Thank you Sarah, I will give it go. I am low on Calendula, I grow my own. Down to the last half cup. We are about to go into Winter and I am having trouble getting some from my supplier in Australia, its sold out.
I will have to wait. I do have dried violets here, 2 cups worth. I use them both. Thanks for the tips. I will try them. I may make smaller amounts of each. I have been using dried violets mixed with other flowers and herbs in a botanical mix for bath teas, and bath salts. Made a lovely bath milk with violets, calendula and oats. I am just having fun experimenting. Have a great weekend.
Wow, that bath milk sounds delightful, Michelle! Hi Juliet, I was wondering if I could add the dried flowers to a healing bath mix to help soothe and calm the skin. I am using oatmeal, chamomile and honey and wanted to add some more colour. Sure, any kind of violet would be a lovely addition to your healing bath mix! Calendula is a wonderful healing flower to include as well.
Can I mix violet leaf with broad leaf plantain for an herbal bath tea to nourish and moisturize the skin? Absolutely, that sounds lovely! When making herbal baths, I like to prepare the herbal tea, strain the herbs out, and then add the liquid into the bath.
It sure looks pretty to see the herbs floating directly in the bathwater, but I find that this is very messy to clean up. Persian violet Exacum affine is in a different genus and plant family than the violets discussed in this article. The distilled water tea was drunk and applied inside the nostrils. Can I use pansy and violas from commercial nursery for herbal teas using leaves and flowers as I heard that they are good for relaxation? Also, here in Australia we have a type called wooded violets dark green leaves and a small plant closed to the ground — do they have the same medicinal value?
Can you suggest anymore relaxing herb as I am currently using lavender, rose petals, lemon balm etc but prefer something flowery and more relaxing as peri menopause is keeping me awake and stressed?
Pansies and violas are both ornamental hybrid plants. There are about species of violets and some can be used for medicine as described in this article.
Those are all wonderful relaxing nervine herbs. I also like tulsi and chamomile. All of those herbs together would make a lovely tea blend or herbal syrup! Skullcap is too but stronger sedative effect and amazing for sleepless nights.
You could also try catnip which is safe for children too. I would like to know if tincture could be made out of Violet leaves. I have the species Viola sororia. Making a tincture is not the best way to prepare violet because the mucilage and minerals found in violet are water soluble and not effectively extracted by alcohol. We recommend making a tea infusion , syrup, or infused vinegar instead to make the most effective medicinal preparation.
Thank you for your prompt reply. How is a person supposed to know what constituents are beneficial within a plant and what solvent, whether alcohol, ACV, glycerin, and such, to use to extract those medicinal properties out?
Is there a book that contains all of that? Thank you. We would love to have you join us for the course. In terms of books on this topic, Herbal Constituents: Foundations of Phytochemistry by Lisa Ganora is a wonderful resource.
I just made a tincture from the leaves and it is very mucilaginous fast extraction with a high speef blender! Wonderful article. For the tea does it need to be fresh or can it be dried for medicinal benefit? Violet is cooling and moistening, so that would certainly be indicated for dry and inflamed sinuses.
So glad you enjoyed this article! Are leaves of the Confederate violet edible? I have both the common and Confederate intermingling in my lawn.
The confederate violet is a cultivar of the common blue violet Viola sororia and you can use them interchangeably for food and medicine. I had no idea! I harvest weeds all the time. Can I dry these and use them in cooking and soaps? You can also read through our article on Foraging for Wild Edibles and Herbs: Sustainable and Safe Gathering Practices for our thoughts and guidelines on foraging sustainably and safely. Gratefully yours, Sibylle.
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