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I’ve recently become a bit obsessed with edible flowers. I love adding herbs into any and every dish I possibly can. But after reading Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, I was captivated by the idea of incorporating edible flowers into my cooking. And, naturally, violet, with all her health benefits, was one of the first edible flowers I wanted to get to know better.
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The information in this post is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is always best to work with a qualified healthcare professional before incorporating herbs into your diet.
Health Benefits & Ways To Use Violet
Violet Monograph
- Botanical name: Viola odorata and related species
- Properties: Demulcent, lymphatic, expectorant, alterative, antipyretic, antiseptic, vulnerary, antispasmodic, mild sedative
- Energetics: Cooling, moistening
- Taste: Sweet, mild but pleasantly bitterish
- Parts Used: Flowers and leaves
- Body Systems Affinity: Lungs, stomach, liver, heart
Habitat/Growing/Harvesting
Violet is an unassuming but tenacious woodland plant that prefers moist growing environments with full morning sun or dappled shade. Much like you’d expect to find on a forest floor.
It’s a perennial in zones 2-11, which means just about anyone can grow violet! It is a native species across most of the world. They flower in the spring, sometimes being one of the first flowers to bloom. Depending on the species and growing environment, they may put out a second flowering in fall.
Gently hand-harvest the flowers when they’ve just opened in spring but leave some for seed production, especially if you’d like your violet pack to spread a bit. Harvest the leaves by hand any time throughout the growing season. Just be sure not to harvest too heavily at any one time or you run the risk of damaging the plant.
Health Benefits & Common Uses of Violet
Violet is a cooling, soothing herb that is well suited to relieve hot, dry issues in the mucous membranes. A violet syrup is often used to soothe dry coughs and sore throats. It can be helpful for chronic dryness in the upper respiratory tract often associated with chronic coughs and asthma.
It is an alterative, which means it helps get fluids moving throughout the body. Violet has a particular affinity for the lymphatic system and breast health, in particular. It has traditionally been used in fold medicine for breast issues. It stimulates lymphatic circulation and can help soften hardness in the glandular tissues and dissolve cysts, lumps, and bumps in the body.
Violet is a nutrient-dense herb high in vitamin C, beta carotene, and antioxidants. It nourished the nervous system and can help calm systemic inflammation, especially in chronic conditions like arthritis, and may be effective for headaches.
Because of its soothing nature, it can be used as an eye or nasal wash for dry, irritated eyes and nasal passages. It can also relieve itchy skin.
Emotionally, violet helps to “set your heart free to love fully—both yourself and all others”, according to Robin Rose Bennett’s book The Gift Of Healing Herbs. It can help you see the sweetness in life and can help ease grief and release anger.
Violet Folk & Magical Info
Violet is often used in love spells and can help fuel your spirit and reawaken your love for your spiritual practice.
Preparations & Dosages
All doses outlined below are for an average-sized adult.
- As a tea: 5-28 grams of dried leaves and flowers per day
- As a tincture: Fresh leaf or dried leaf, 1- 5mL 3x/day
- Other preparations: Syrup, infused honey, infused oil
Violet Cautions/Contraindications
Violet is generally considered safe. Due to its saponin content, it may cause nausea when consumed in excess. The roots are emetic (induce vomiting).
Easy Ways To Experience The Health Benefits Of Violet
Fresh Violet Flower Garnish
The fresh violet flowers can be used as a beautiful garnish in salads or anywhere else you want to add a lovely pop of color and interest. You could also candy fresh violet flowers and use them to decorate baked goods and desserts.
Violet Infused Oil
Herb-infused oils are pretty simple to make and violet is a great herb to use for topical applications. Simply fill a jar half full with dried violet flowers (and leaves, if desired). Then fill the jar to the top with your oil of choice. Stir the herbs a bit to release any air bubbles and top up with oil, as needed. Olive oil is always a good choice, as is almond oil or jojoba oil for topical applications.
You can either place your jar in a sunny window to warm and infuse for 2-3 weeks, shaking the jar every day or so to redistribute the herbs. Or, to speed things up a bit, place the jar in a slow cooker and add water to cover the jars about halfway. Then turn the slow cooker on the “keep warm” and leave the lid off while it infuses for 12-24 hours. Because all slow cookers are different, you’ll want to check the temperature of the water in the slow cooker. You want it to feel like warm bath water. If it gets too hot you run the risk of oxidizing the oil and cooking the herbs.
Once the oil has infused, strain off the herbs through several layers of cheesecloth. Label and store the oil in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
Note: If you use fresh violet and the long-infusion method, you’ll have a higher risk of mold developing because of the water content. It can be done, but keep a much closer eye on the oil infusion, making sure the herb is always covered with oil completely. You’ll only want to infuse it with fresh herbs for about 1 week.
Violet Honey
Violet honey is as lovely as it is delicious. Roughly chop up enough fresh violet flowers to loosely fill a small jar, then fill the rest of the way with raw honey. Stir to break up any air bubbles and top up with honey, as needed. Then let it infuse in a cool, dark place for 3 weeks, stirring occasionally that first week to make sure the herbs are distributed evenly.
The lovely part of using fresh flowers in honey is you don’t even have to strain them out before using, especially if you’ve chopped them up first. But if you prefer, you can strain out the herbs before using the honey. Just warm the honey a bit in a water bath so that it’s pourable, then strain through a fine mesh strainer.
Label the jar and store it in a cool, dark place. Because of the antimicrobial properties of raw honey, you won’t need to be too worried about spoilage. Infused honey can last for 2-3 years. But chances are you’ll use it up well before then.
Violet honey is delicious in tea or drizzled on desserts. It can also be very soothing when used topically and would make a lovely face mask.
References
- The Modern Herbal Dispensatory by Thomas Easley and Steven Horne
- The Gift of Healing Herbs by Robin Rose Bennett
- The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra
- Herb Mentor. Violet Monograph. https://herbmentor.learningherbs.com/herb/violet/
- Homegrown Herbs by Tammi Hartung