The most popular medicinal flower is the sweet violet or Viola odorata. It is one of the violets native to Europe and it has been widely cultivated into many forms over the years in North America. The petals are deep violet and vary to white. The flowers are quite fragrant. V. odorata is best known as a cough remedy especially for bronchitis (Hoffman, 2003). Violet flower is used as a remedy for coughs, colds and sore throats. Sweet violet, also, has a long history of use as a cough remedy, especially bronchitis, and functions as an expectorant, as well as an anti-inflammatory (Hoffman, 2003)
During the Victorian era, France alone reputedly harvested six tons of flowers a year.
Wild Crafted Ontario Violet - Viola odorata L. ~ For centuries Sweet Violet has been associated with matters of the heart. It 'calms and strengthens the heart', softens and soothes the spirit ~ especially when under the weather. For children, aidng eczema, dry cough or to calm a child Violet Children's Syrup is indicated for teething pain, tummy upset, mild fever, sore throat, coughs, sniffles, constipation, childhoof emotional upset or over tiredness. Violet also functions as a reliable expectorant as well as an anti-inflammatory. Viola has been evaluated in different clinical indications in human studies. A double blind clinical trial showed that the adjuvant use of Violet Syrup improves the cough suppression in children with asthma.
As far back as 1885, a study compared violet leaf/flower vitamin C content to that of oranges and vitamin A content to that of spinach. From the basal leaves, if collected in spring, this early research reported that violets contain twice as much vitamin C as the same weight of orange and more than twice the amount of vitamin A, gram for gram, when compared with spinach! (Erichsen-Brown, 1979).
30 gram bag - Wildcrafted Dried Sweet Violet Flower
A syrup of the flowers is excellent for soothing children’s coughs ~ See our Stillroom Violet Childrens' Syrup here - https://www.stonehouseholistics.com/product-page/sweet-violet-childrens-syrup
Many of the older European-based herbalists, such as Grieve, who first published A Modern Herbal in 1931, and De Bairacli Levy (1973), note that violet has been used, historically, for the treatment of cancer. In America, there are accounts of Native Americans utilizing violet for cancer treatment (Erichsen-Brown, 1979). To my surprise, the American National Cancer Institute has been made aware of the folk uses of violets for cancer since at least the 1950s. (Erichson-Brown, 1979).
No side effects or drug interactions have been reported for violets. There are no reported risks for pregnancy or lactation that are noted (Brinker, 2010).
Wildcrafted Sweet Violet Flower - 30 grams dried herb
REFERENCES
The Effect of Viola Odorata L. for Fever in Children: A Randomized Triple-blinded Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31250761/
Brinker, Francis. (2010) Herbal Contraindications and Drug Interactions plus Herbal Adjuncts with Medicines. Fourth Edition. Eclectic Medical Publications, Sandy, Oregon.
De Bairacli Levy, Juliette. (1973) Common Herbs for Natural Health. Schocken Books. New York.
Erichsen-Brown, Charlotte. (1979) Medicinal and Other Uses of North American Plants; a Historical Survey with Special Reference to the Eastern Indian Tribes. Dover Publications. New York.
Garland, Sarah. (1979) The Complete Book of Herbs and spices. Frances Lincoln Publishers Limited. London.
Gleason, Henry, A., and Cronquist, Arthur. (1963) Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. D. Van Nostrand Company. New York.
Grieve, M. (1996) A Modern Herbal. Barnes and Noble Books. New York.
Hellinger, R., Koehbach, J., Fedchuck, H., Sauer, B., Huber, R., Gruber, CW., and Grundemann, C., ( 2014) Immunosuppressive activity of an aqueous Viola tricolor herbal extract. J. Ethnopharmacol. Jan 10;151(1):299-306.
Hoffman, David. (2003) Medical Herbalism; The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine. Healing Arts Press. Rochester, Vermont.
Miller, Amy Bess. (1998) Shaker Medicinal Herbs; A compendium of history, lore, and uses. Storey Books. Schoolhouse Rd., Pownal, Vermont 05261.
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