Introduction :
Violets are always exciting to find while walking in the field in early summer. They are so easy to identify as to their genus. However, most people will stop there, because they are not easy to identify at the species level - many minute characteristics must be examined...and they easily form difficult to describe hybrids. Approached in the right mix of adventurousness and humility, sorting out violets can be fun. However, should efforts end in exasperation, just keep in mind that the violets never read the botany books. (Choukas-Bradley 2004).
In order to correctly identify violets the following features must be examined :
these are stems, leaves and flowers.
Before we begin
Many textbooks contain information on species of Viola (Violets) and all are adequate to good. However, if you are very interested in violets we suggest to you a treatise by Arthur Haines (2001. The Genus Viola of Maine, A taxonomic and Ecological Reference. V.F. Thomas Co., Bowdoin, Maine). This covers all the species found in New Brunswick. Contact Arthur Haines.
The second point is a request. The NB Botany Club advocates the ethical use of our flora. Violets are beautiful and appear to be plentiful, so there is no harm in picking a flower to examine it !!! Please do not. That flower you pick indiscriminantly may be a rare violet. Leave it where it is.
Examining and identifying violets can be challenging and may involve a bit of gymnastics. Take out your 10x hand lens (a must) and bend down to examine the plant. Checking out the 3 main identification features (stems, leaves and flowers) can be easily done with the plant in its natural state.
What good are violets?
Except for their intrinsic beauty violets provide nectar (at a price) for many foraging insects, especially the bees. The lines on the petals are nectar guides, evident under ultra-violet light, easily visible to the potential pollinators. The various color schemes of petals - white with violet, white with yellow, and yellow with purple serve as flags for pollinators.
Those industrious ants relish the nutrient rich caruncle (i.e., the spongious tissue) of the seeds and place them in their larder. By removing (eating away) the caruncle, ants are aiding the germination process of the seeds when they leave their nest after a month.
Violet petals are used in the beauty industry as scents for soaps, eau-de-toilette and perfumes.
In the popular culture violets are symbols of modesty, simplicity and fidelity Violets are the official flowers of the US states of Wisconsin, Rhode Island, New Jersey & Illinois, as well as New Brunswick, Canada.
Pick the first violet you see in spring and make a wish...you will be protected for the rest of the year... (maybe this works without having to pick the flower). Giving a violet to your loved one was a gift for luck. The pansy (english term for the french "pensée" i.e., remembrance) was named for this custom. However, young women were forbidden from touching a white violet until they were wed. In the secret language of flowers giving violets implicitely said "I share your love".
In our pharmacopoeia violets were listed for many ailments : violets contain "salicylic acid which is an active disinfectant..it is applied in ointments to soften the hard skin, corns and warts, it is also a fungicide." "The roots of V. odorata ..are used in cough syrup and for rheumatic diseases." Some remedies were somewhat bizarre. 1633 Gerarde-Johnson 852. ‘The floures are good for all inflammations especially of the sides and lungs ; they take away the hoarseness of the chest, the ruggedness of the winde-pipe and jaws, allay the extream heate of the liver, kidneys and bladder ; mitigate the fierie heate of burning agues ; temper the sharpness of choler, and take away thirst. There is an oyl made of Violet, which is likewise cold and moist. The same being annointed upon the testicles, doth gently provoke sleepe which is hindered by a hot and dry distemper : mixed or laboured together in a wooden dish with a yelke of an egge, it asswageth the pain of the fundament and hemorrhoides : it is likewise good to be put into cooling clisters, and into pultesses that coole and ease pain...the later Physitians do thinke it good to mix dry Violets with medicines that are to comfort and strenghten the heart' (Erichsen-Brown 1979). Needless to say, do not try this at home.
Let us begin
What is the first thing you notice when you spot a violet ? The color of the corolla, of course. That is usually what first catches your eye. We will use this as the first identification characteristic. Here we use a tool called a dichotomous key... you have to make a choice between two statements and accept or reject one statement, this points you to the next set of statements, until you identify the violet.
To the features:
stems, leaves and flowers.
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Violet Features; Key to Violet/Purple/Blue; Key to White; Key Yellow & Multicolored
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