Viola canina - Dog Violet

Family:	Violaceae
Habit:	Perennial
Height:	0.4
Synonyms:
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain and temperate Asia to Japan.

Viola canina (Dog Violet) is a Perennial which grows to a height of 0.4m . It has a hardness rating of 6and is vunerable to frost.
Dog Violet will flower in January to February. The flowers from this plant are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and they are pollinated by Insects

Soil Information

Dog Violet will grow in light (sandy),medium (loamy),hard (clay) soil. It is / is important for the soil to be well drained.
The soil prefers the following PH / acid levels :
- pH of less than 6, Acidic soils
- pH between 6 and 8, Neutral soils
Dog Violet prefers moist soils

Ideal Planting Locations

Dog Violet can grow in semi or areas with no shade.

Heaths, dry grasslands, dunes and fens to 420m[17].

Planting places suited to this plant described below.

• Suits a meadow

Cultivation Details

Prefers a cool moist well-drained humus-rich soil in partial or dappled shade and protection from scorching winds. Tolerates sandstone and limestone soils but becomes chlorotic if the pH is too high. Prefers a pH between 6 and 6.5[200]. All members of this genus have more or less edible leaves and flower buds, though those species with yellow flowers can cause diarrhoea if eaten in large quantities[62, 85, 159].

Edible Uses*

* See disclaimer
Edible Rating: 3/5
Young leaves and flower buds - raw or cooked[105, 177]. When added to soups, they thicken them in much the same way as okra[85, 159]. A tea can be made from the leaves[85].

• Flowers -
• Leaves -
• Tea - the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.

Medicinal Uses*

* See disclaimer
Medicinal Rating: 1/5
The flowers and leaves are powerfully cathartic and emetic[4]. The plant has also had a reputation for curing skin diseases[4].

• Cathartic - A strong laxative but less violent than a purgative.
• Emetic - Induces vomiting.

Propagation

Seed - best sown in the autumn in a cold frame. Sow stored seed in early spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in the autumn or just after flowering. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, though we have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.

Known Hazards

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivars

no recorded cultivars

References

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