Viola odorata

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Viola odorata
Viola odorata fg01.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Violaceae
Genus: Viola
Species:
V. odorata
Binomial name
Viola odorata
L.

Viola odorata is a species of flowering plant in the family Violaceae , native to Europe and Asia. This small hardy herbaceous perennial is commonly known as wood violet, [1] sweet violet, [2] English violet, [2] common violet, [2] florist's violet, [2] or garden violet. [2] It has been introduced into the Americas and Australia.

Contents

Description

Viola odorata can be distinguished by the following characteristics:

These perennial flowers mature at a height of 4–6 in (10–15 cm) and a spread of 8–24 in (20–61 cm). [1]

Distribution and habitat

V. odorata is native to Europe and Asia and has been introduced to the Americas and Australia.[ citation needed ]

The species can be found near the edges of forests or in clearings; it is also a common "uninvited guest" in shaded lawns or elsewhere in gardens.[ citation needed ]

Uses

Several cultivars have been selected for garden use, of which V. odorata 'Wellsiana' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [3] [4]

The sweet scent of this flower has proved popular, particularly in the late Victorian period, and has consequently been used in the production of many cosmetic fragrances and perfumes. [5] The French are known for their violet syrup, most commonly made from an extract of violets.[ citation needed ] In the United States, this French violet syrup is used to make violet scones and marshmallows.[ citation needed ]

The scent of violet flowers is distinctive with only a few other flowers having a remotely similar odor. References to violets and the desirable nature of the fragrance go back to classical sources such as Pliny and Horace when the name "Ion" was in use to describe this flower from which the name of the distinctive chemical constituents of the flower, the ionones, is derived. In 1923, W.A. Poucher wrote that the flowers were widely cultivated both in Europe and the East for their fragrance, with both the flowers and leaves being separately collected and extracted for fragrance, and flowers also collected for use in confectionery galenical syrup [6] and in the production of medicine.[ citation needed ]

There is some doubt as to whether the true extract of the violet flower is still used commercially in perfumes. [7] It was still used in the early 20th century, [6] but by the time Steffen Arctander was writing in the late 1950s and early 1960s, production had "almost disappeared". [5] Violet leaf absolute, however, remains widely used in modern perfumery. [8] [9]

The leaves are edible. [10] Real violet flower extract is available for culinary uses, especially in European countries.[ citation needed ]

Phytochemicals and research

V. oderata contains the alkaloid violin, about 30 cyclotides, and triterpenoids, mostly as constituents of the essential oil.[ citation needed ] It also contains a cannabinoid peptide called "vodo-C1" that acts in vitro as a selective CB2 receptor agonist without CB1 activity. [11]

In mythology

The violet flower was a favorite in ancient Greece and became the symbol of Athens. The scent suggested sex, so the violet was an emblematic flower of Aphrodite and of her son, Priapus, the deity of gardens and generation. [12] [13] [14]

Iamus was a son of Apollo and the nymph Evadne. He was abandoned by his mother at birth. She left him lying in the Arkadian wilds on a bed of violets where he was fed honey by serpents. Eventually, he was discovered by passing shepherds who named him Iamus after the violet (ion) bed.[ citation needed ]

The goddess Persephone and her companion Nymphs were gathering rose, crocus, violet, iris, lily, and larkspur blooms in a springtime meadow when she was abducted by the god Hades. [15]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Asakawa, Bruce; Asakawa, Sharon (3 September 2001). California Gardener's Guide . Cool Springs Press. pp.  38–39. ISBN   978-1-930604-47-6 . Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Viola odorata". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Viola odorata 'Wellsiana' (Vt)". Royal Horticural Society. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 107. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  5. 1 2 Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin by Steffen Arctander, First published 1961, ISBN   0-931710-36-7, ISBN   978-0-931710-36-0
  6. 1 2 Poucher, W.A. (1923). Perfumes Cosmetics and Soaps, Vol. 2, Chapter V: Monographs on Flower Perfumes.
  7. ↑ "Violet". fragrantica.
  8. ↑ Curtis & Williams (2009). An Introduction to Perfumery. 2nd Edition. ISBN   978-0-9608752-8-3. ISBN   978-1-870228-24-4.
  9. ↑ "Essential oils". Bo Jensen.
  10. ↑ "Edible Flowers Violets".
  11. ↑ Tomašević, Nataša; Emser, Fabiola Susanna; Muratspahić, Edin; et al. (2024). "Discovery and development of macrocyclic peptide modulators of the cannabinoid 2 receptor". Journal of Biological Chemistry: 107330. doi:10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107330.
  12. ↑ Hatfield, Audrey Wynne (1973). A Herb for Every Ill. St. Martin's Press. p. 173.
  13. ↑ Roberts, Margaret (2000). Edible & Medicinal Flowers. New Africa Books. p. 79.
  14. ↑ Cumo, Christopher (2013). Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants. ABC-CLIO. p. 1113. ISBN   9781598847758.
  15. ↑ "Plants and flowers of Greek myth". Theoi Project.
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