When the warmer weather is just starting to poke its head out, there’s one small flower that always seems to be one of the first to celebrate. Violets can be spotted in many gardens and parks around this time, their bright purple petals shining in the sunlight. While they may not be as large as some other flowers, violets make up for it with their cheerful colors and sweet smell. If you’re looking for a way to welcome springtime, look no further than these little blooms!
What Is a Violet?
A violet is a small, bell-shaped flower that typically grows in temperate climates. There are around 400 species of violets, which come in all sorts of colors including white, purple, pink, and blue.
Violets are often considered symbols of modesty and innocence. They’re also said to be associated with springtime, new beginnings, and love. Some people believe that picking violets can bring good luck, while others claim that the flower has healing properties.
Viola odorata is a species of flowering plant in the viola family, native to Europe and Asia. This small hardy herbaceous perennial is commonly known as wood violet, sweet violet, English violet, common violet, florist’s violet, or garden violet. It has been introduced into North America and Australia.
Viola odorata has dark violet or white flowers, leaves and blooms are all in a basal rosette, and the flowers are scented. The gynoecium (and does not conclude with a rounded extremity), the leaf-stalks have hairs that point downwards, and the plant expands via stolons
The plants have a diameter of about 6 inches and grow to a height of 4–6 inches. They are perennial blooms that mature to a diameter of 8–24 inches and a spread of 8–24 inches. It is typically found near forests’ boundaries or in clearings, and it frequently turns up in shaded lawns or elsewhere in gardens.
Cultivation and Usage of Violets:
The lovely scent of this blossom has been popular for a long time, especially in the late Victorian period, and it is frequently utilized in the creation of various cosmetic fragrances and odors. The French are likewise well-known for their violet syrup, which is often produced from violets. In the United States, this violet syrup is employed to produce violet scones and marshmallows. Only a few other blooms have a similar fragrance, which makes the scent of violet flowers unique.
Violets have been linked with the color violet since ancient times, when Ion was used to describe the flower from which the flower’s unique chemical components, the ionones– are derived. Poucher stated in 1923 that the flowers were both cultivated throughout Europe and Asia for their scent, with flowers and leaves being harvested separately for fragrance and used to make medicinal galenical syrup.
There is some doubt whether the genuine extract of the violet flower is still used commercially in scent. Violet leaf absolute, on the other hand, has been very popular in modern perfumery.
The leaves are edible. Edible real violet flower extract is popular in Europe, although it is pricey.
