Viola riviniana - Wood Violet

Family:	Violaceae
Habit:	Perennial
Height:	0.2
Synonyms:
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to Spain, Italy and Greece,

Viola riviniana (Wood Violet) is a Perennial which grows to a height of 0.2m . It has a hardness rating of 5.
Wood Violet will flower in October to December. the seeds ripen from November to January
The flowers from this plant are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and they are pollinated by Bees, lepidoptera

Soil Information

Wood 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
Wood Violet prefers moist soils

Ideal Planting Locations

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

Woods, hedgebanks, heaths, pastures and mountain rocks on all types of soil that are not too wet[17].

Planting places suited to this plant described below.

• Grows within a woodland garden
• Grows on a sunny edge
• Works within dappled Shade
• Grows in a shady edge
• Can spread to cover ground and will out compete weeds
• Will grow in a hedge row
• In an East Wall

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. A good butterfly plant[24]. The plant flowers mainly during April to June but also produces cleistogomous flowers during the summer. These flowers do not open but fertilize themselves and produce viable seed. 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]. When added to soup they thicken it in much the same way as okra[85, 159]. Flowers and buds - raw[85]. 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: 0/5
None known

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

Plants can be grown as a ground cover when spaced about 30cm apart each way[208].

• Ground cover - Usually low growing plants that can be grown with other plants, especially shrubs and trees, to prevent the growth of weeds.

Cultivars

no recorded cultivars

References

Flora of the British Isles.
Clapham, Tootin and Warburg.
Author: Clapham, Tootin and Warburg.
Rating:
Publisher : A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
Date of Publication : 1962

The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Huxley. A.
Author: Huxley. A.
Rating:
Publisher : Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Date of Publication : 1992

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