Viola yedoensis Seeds | Herba Violae
LATIN NAME: Viola yedoensis
COMMON NAME: Yedo Violet
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Yedo Violet, Viola yedoensis is a grass in the violet family (Violaceae), native to moist, open ground of the eastern Asia. In early spring, before much else has woken, small, violet flowers of this viola appear low among grass and fallen leaves. It hugs ground, spreading quietly into a broad, leafy mat, and it flowers again and again through cool season. Not many plants ask so little and repay so much.
Science & Biotechnology
Within the violet family, Viola yedoensis is of continuing interest to researchers working on plant diversity, seed biology and the selection of improved garden forms. This modest viola has a longer story in research than its size would suggest. Gardeners benefit directly from its long cultivation: what the plant will do in a garden is well understood.
Uses & Benefits
Yedo Violet works well in borders, containers and dedicated beds. For cool-season garden, the Yedo violet is a quiet treasure. Its small, deep-purple flowers open early in year, when garden is still thin, and they give a soft carpet of colour among grass and early bulbs. Flowers are a welcome early food for bees of spring, and low, leafy mat holds ground beneath taller plants. Given the right start, it carries on with minimal intervention.
Violets and pansies are edible-flower staples and a gentle folk remedy: violet leaf and flower syrups are traditional European comforts for coughs and children’s skin; the heartsease, San Se Jin, also enters Chinese herbals.
Growing from Seed
Seed is the natural starting point for Yedo Violet, and the process is uncomplicated. Sow the seed evenly over the surface and cover lightly, using a loose, well-drained seed compost, and keep it just moist in bright light until the seedlings are well up. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Yedo Violet settles in quickly once it finds its footing. From then on, routine care is all that is required.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Yedo Violet: