Viola yedoensis seed Herba Violae

LATIN NAME: Viola yedoensis

COMMON NAME: Yedo Violet

In the early spring, before much else has woken, the small, violet flowers of this viola appear low among the grass and the fallen leaves. The Yedo violet grows as a low, tufted, stemless perennial, with the rounded, softly toothed leaves rising from the base and, through the early months of the year, the small, five-petalled flowers of a deep, velvety purple, each with a fine, pale spur at the back and a little patch of gold at the throat. It hugs the ground, spreading quietly into a broad, leafy mat, and it flowers again and again through the cool season. It is a species of the flowering herb in the violet family, native to the moist, open ground of the eastern Asia, and it is known as the Yedo violet.

The Yedo violet belongs to the violet family, Violaceae, and it is a low, tufted, stemless perennial of the moist, open ground of the eastern Asia. Its small, deep-purple flowers and its rounded, leafy rosette set it apart among the early spring flowers. It is known as the Yedo violet, and it is treasured for its early, ground-hugging flowers.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

This modest viola has a longer story in the research than its size would suggest. The whole herb has been a subject of the traditional herbal study in the region for a very long time, and that history has been written up in the pharmaceutical and botanical papers, while the chemistry of the plant has been looked at by the researchers of the natural products. The plant is best understood as a traditional herb of the region rather than a modern medicine, and its chemistry continues to be studied. The early, ground-hugging flowers and the leafy rosette have also been of interest in the horticulture, and the violas as a group have been studied for their easy, generous flowering in the cool season.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

For the cool-season garden, the Yedo violet is a quiet treasure. Its small, deep-purple flowers open early in the year, when the garden is still thin, and they give a soft carpet of colour among the grass and the early bulbs. The flowers are a welcome early food for the bees of the spring, and the low, leafy mat holds the ground beneath the taller plants. The whole herb has a long traditional history in the region, and its early, generous flowering has made it a valued plant of the shade and the woodland edge. In the cool, damp garden the Yedo violet is an easy, rewarding plant. Rub the small seeds over a piece of fine sandpaper to scar the shiny coats, sow them at a shallow depth in pots of moist, leaf-rich soil and give them a short cool rest in the fridge, then bring them into a bright, cool spot, and the first seedlings will show themselves before long.

Uses: Medicinal