Viola japonica

Langsdorf ex Ging.

Violaceae Edible: Flowers, Leaves, Root 341 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

A perennial viola growing to 20cm tall with hermaphroditic flowers pollinated by insects. Blooms April to May. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage. Prefers mildly acidic to neutral pH and moist conditions. Grows in semi-shade or full sun.

Description

A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It does not have a stem but forms a ring. It has a short rhizome. There are many leaves at the base. They are triangle shaped or oval and 3-8 cm long by 4-5 cm wide.

Edible Uses

Young leaves and flower buds can be eaten raw or cooked. Added to soup, they thicken it in much the same way as okra. The root is also edible when cooked — it is mucilaginous, rich in starch, and works well in soups. The leaves can be brewed into a tea.

Traditional Uses

The roots are chopped and mixed with yam starch to make a soup.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The whole plant is anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antiphlogistic, and depurative. A decoction is used in the treatment of abscesses, boils, acute conjunctivitis, hepatitis, acute jaundice, laryngitis, and ulcers.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It can grow in sunny places of lightly shaded places in the lowlands below 1,100 m above sea level. In Sichuan.

Where It Grows

Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Slovenia,

Cultivation

Prefers a cool moist well-drained humus-rich soil in partial or dappled shade and protection from scorching winds. Tolerates sandstone and limestone soils but becomes chlorotic if the pH is too high. Prefers a pH between 6 and 6.5. All members of this genus have more or less edible leaves and flower buds, though those species with yellow flowers can cause diarrhoea if eaten in large quantities.

Propagation

Sow seed in autumn in a cold frame for best results, or sow stored seed in early spring in a cold frame. Prick out seedlings into individual pots once large enough to handle, then plant out during summer. Divide plants in autumn or just after flowering. Larger divisions can go directly into their permanent positions, but smaller divisions are best potted up and grown on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until establishing well, then planted out in summer or the following spring.

Other Uses

None known

Notes

There are about 500 Viola species.

Also Known As

Japonska vijolica, Ko-sumire

References (4)

A. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 1:295. 1824
http://www.botanic-gardens-ljubljana.com/en/plants
Lim, T. K., 2015, Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants. Volume 9, Modified Stems, Roots, Bulbs. Springer p 85
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/