Viola odorata

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Scientific classification Edit this classification
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Binomial name
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Subspecies[1]
  • Viola odorata subsp. odorata
  • Viola odorata subsp. stolonifera (J.J.Rodr.) J.J.Orell & Romo
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Synonyms[1]
  • Viola hirta var. odorata (L.) Fiori
  • Viola hirta subsp. odorata (L.) Fiori
  • Viola martii subsp. odorata (L.) Schimp. & Spenn.

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Viola odorata is a species of flowering plant in the family Violaceae. The small hardy herbaceous perennial is commonly known as wood violet,[2] sweet violet,[3] English violet,[3] common violet,[3] florist's violet,[3] or garden violet.[3]

The plant is native to Eurasia. The leaves and flowers are edible and have been used to make fragrances.

Description

Viola odorata spreads with stolons (above-ground shoots). The plant reaches 15 centimetres (6 in) in height.[4] The leaves and stems are all in a basal rosette. The leaf stalks have downward-pointing hairs. The leaves are kidney-shaped and reach Page Template:Fraction/styles.css has no content.6 cm (2+1⁄2 in) long.[4]

The flowers are normally either dark violet or white and are scented.[2] The style is hooked (and does not end with a rounded appendage). The perennial flowers mature when the plant is at a height of 10–15 cm (4–6 in) and a spread of 20–61 cm (8–24 in).[2]

Chemistry

The plant contains the alkaloid violin, about 30 cyclotides, and triterpenoids, mostly as constituents of the essential oil.[citation needed]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are accepted:

  • Viola odorata subsp. odorata – entire range ;
  • Viola odorata subsp. stolonifera (J.J.Rodr.) J.J.Orell & Romo – Balearic Islands.

Distribution and habitat

Viola odorata is native to Europe south of Scandinavia, northwest Africa (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia), Macaronesia, the Caucasus, Western Asia, and Kazakhstan. It has been introduced to the Americas, Scandinavia, southern and eastern Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.[1] The species can be found near the edges of forests or in clearings; it is also a common "uninvited guest" in shaded lawns or elsewhere in gardens.[citation needed]

Uses

The leaves and flowers are edible.[5][4] Real violet flower extract is available for culinary uses, especially in European countries.[citation needed] The French are known for their violet syrup, most commonly made from an extract of violets.[citation needed] In the United States, this French violet syrup is used to make violet scones and marshmallows.[citation needed]

Several cultivars have been selected for garden use, of which V. odorata 'Wellsiana' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6][7]

The sweet scent of this flower has proved popular, particularly in the late Victorian period, and has consequently been used in the production of many cosmetic fragrances and perfumes.[8] There is some doubt as to whether the true extract of the violet flower is still used commercially in perfumes.[9] It was still used in the early 20th century,[10] but by the time Steffen Arctander was writing in the late 1950s and early 1960s, production had "almost disappeared".[8] Violet leaf absolute, however, remains widely used in modern perfumery.[11][12]

The scent of violet flowers is distinctive with only a few other flowers having a remotely similar odor. References to violets and the desirable nature of the fragrance go back to classical sources such as Pliny and Horace when the name "Ion" was in use to describe this flower from which the name of the distinctive chemical constituents of the flower, the ionones, is derived. In 1923, W. A. Poucher wrote that the flowers were widely cultivated both in Europe and the East for their fragrance, with both the flowers and leaves being separately collected and extracted for fragrance, and flowers also collected for use in confectionery Template:Wikt-lang syrup[10] and in the production of medicine.[citation needed]

The plant contains a cannabinoid peptide called "vodo-C1" that acts in vitro as a selective CB2 receptor agonist without CB1 activity.[13]

In culture

The violet flower was a favorite in ancient Greece and became the symbol of Athens. The scent suggested sex, so the violet was an emblematic flower of Aphrodite and of her son, Priapus, the deity of gardens and generation.[14][15][16]

Iamus was a son of Apollo and the nymph Evadne. He was abandoned by his mother at birth. She left him lying in the Arkadian wilds on a bed of violets where he was fed honey by serpents. Eventually, he was discovered by passing shepherds who named him Iamus after the violet (ion) bed.[citation needed]

The goddess Persephone and her companion Nymphs were gathering rose, crocus, violet, iris, lily, and larkspur blooms in a springtime meadow when she was abducted by the god Hades.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Viola odorata L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Asakawa, Bruce; Asakawa, Sharon (3 September 2001). California Gardener's Guide. Cool Springs Press. pp. 38–39. ISBN 978-1-930604-47-6. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
  4. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Francis-Baker, Tiffany (2021). Concise Foraging Guide. The Wildlife Trusts. London: Bloomsbury. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-4729-8474-6.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Edible Flowers Violets".
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Viola odorata "Wellsiana" (Vt)". Royal Horticural Society. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 107. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  8. ^ a b Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin by Steffen Arctander, First published 1961, Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Violet". fragrantica.
  10. ^ a b Poucher, W.A. (1923), Perfumes Cosmetics and Soaps, Vol. 2, Chapter V: Monographs on Flower Perfumes.
  11. ^ Curtis & Williams (2009), An Introduction to Perfumery, 2nd Edition Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Essential oils". Bo Jensen.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Tomašević, Nataša; Emser, Fabiola Susanna; Muratspahić, Edin; et al. (2024). "Discovery and development of macrocyclic peptide modulators of the cannabinoid 2 receptor". Journal of Biological Chemistry 107330. doi:10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107330. PMC 11154713.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hatfield, Audrey Wynne (1973). A Herb for Every Ill. St. Martin's Press. p. 173.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Roberts, Margaret (2000). Edible & Medicinal Flowers. New Africa Books. p. 79.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cumo, Christopher (2013). Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants. ABC-CLIO. p. 1113. ISBN 978-1-59884-775-8.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Plants and flowers of Greek myth". Theoi Project.

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