Tag Archives: Viola odorata

13/366 Sweet violets

13 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by in nature, wildflowers, winter

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As the gusty winds of Storm Brendan began to blow the trees around and I slipped and slid along Cosmeston’s muddy paths, I came upon this host of spring flowers.

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Not the traditional host (of Daffodils) these, but rather Sweet violets (Viola odorata), considered native in some parts of Britain, invasive garden escapees in others. I’m not sure which these are but they were lovely to see.

I didn’t detect any smell but that could perhaps just have been the wind and rain or my inadequate nose, as I’m fairly sure they are Sweet violets – blunt sepals, hairy stems and leaves, the right leaf shape and growth pattern, flowering very early. A delight on a grey day.

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63/365 Sweet violets

04 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers

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When I see violets, I always think of my nana Johno, my mother’s mother. She always had violets growing in her garden and would often pick a few to bring inside so she could enjoy their sweet scent. I spotted these particular violets on my way to Cosmeston this morning, growing wild on a grassy bank. I wasn’t able to smell them but I’m fairly sure these are Sweet violets (Viola odorata), which, as well as the traditional purple colour, can also be found in this pretty white variation.

Variable and promiscuous

06 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

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In Flora Botannica Richard Mabey’s opening statement on the violet family reads: ‘The violets are a variable and promiscuous family, apt to throw up all kinds of sports and hybrids.’ This once meant that botanists split the family into as many as 40 different species, depending on their colour variations. Fortunately, common sense and modern scientific analysis has now prevailed and that number has been almost halved. Still, violets are not always easy to identify.

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Although the violets in my photos are both purple and white, they are, I believe, all Sweet violets (Viola odorata), as they all had the distinctive scent of this variety – Common dog violets (Viola riviniana) are so called because they do not smell. In olden times, Sweet violets were one of the herbs that were strewn on floors to improve the smell of your home, and they have also been used by herbalists to treat insomnia, depression and headache. All that, and pretty too!

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