Violet

Key Uses

Lymphatic stagnation especially in the breasts, throat and ears; dryness of the upper respiratory tract – including dry cough, sore throat and sinus catarrh; general inflammation and inflamed eyes; mild constipation

History

Violet has been used for centuries as a common medicinal herb. This gentle and dainty flower grows vigorously in Europe, North America and North Africa under shady trees, in meadows and in woodland areas. There are over 500 known species. Violet odora is the common type of violet used in Europe for both medicine and perfume making. Violets makes their appearance in the spring with a brief encore again in late summer. As I look outside my front window each spring I am mesmerized by a yard bespeckled with the brilliant purples hues of these hardy yet gentle plants. Last year my daughter and I spent an afternoon harvesting the flowers of our native blue sororia as well as a few of a variety streaked with blue and white. Heart shaped leaved give us an indication that this plant may well be good for the heart and cardiovascular system and, indeed, being high in rutin, vitamin C, and vitamin A, the leaves have been used historically for varicose veins and hemorrhoids. The greeks used it for a cardiotonic. Just a taste of the leaf will give you a sense of its cooling mucilage as you feel a bit of slipperiness on your tongue.

Clinical Uses

Culpepper (1616-1654) stated that the flowers of white violets ripen and dissolve swelling and are used to cool the heat and quench the thirst. Violet is also antitussive due its high saponin content. It’s cooling, moistening properties has make it a valuable respiratory medicine, especially to those experiencing a dry hacking cough, a sore throat or the dry inflammation indicative of bronchitis. It also acts as an expectorant in cases of excess mucus and is especially helpful for sinus infections. The markets in Bengal sell the whole violet plant in a dried form and use it as a diaphoretic to help reduce fevers. Because of it’s malic-acid and quercitin content it is also bacteriocidal. We all of the above components we can u­­--­nderstand why it has been used for all ailments of the respiratory tract (Culpepper 1616-1654) and how using a bit of violet in a tea could help bring comfort to someone dealing with an acute respiratory condition. Have you ever pulled up the roots of the violet, they look like a mass of lymph nodules. Here too, violet does not fail us as it has been used to move stagnant lymph, especially around the area of the ears and throat and the breasts. Both Native Americans and European herbalists have a long history of using violet in the treatment of breast cancer. It has been also used successfully in cancers of the skin, lymph and lungs. In conditions of the skin it was traditionally used both internally as a tea or tincture as well as topically as a poultice, salve or oil. Skin conditions that are dry, such as eczema, also benefit from violet’s moistening energetics.Violet flowers and leaves were traditionally made into a tasty syrup for medicinal use. This was given to babies and children as a mild laxative. Violet is noted for its calming effect on the nervous system as well. It would marry well with other calming herbs such as blue vervain, skullcap or linden to cool and soothe an anxious nervous system.

Studies

One study showed a viola extract inhibited proliferation of activated lymphocytes (Hillinger 2014) and negatively affected other hyper responsive immune function.

Resources