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Viola abyssinica is a low, creeping perennial violet from highland grassland and forest edges in eastern and southern Africa and Madagascar. It grows best in cool, moist, partly shaded spots where its trailing stems can root freely.
Viola abyssinica is a low perennial plant with long trailing stems and whitish or light purple flowers with purple markings on the lip, that is assigned to the violet family. In the wild it grows in moist grassland, forest glades and margins, at altitudes between 1,200 and 3,400 m (3,900 and 11,200 ft), in eastern Africa, from South Africa to Ethiopia, in Cameroun and Nigeria, and on Madagascar and Bioko. Vernacular names are bezongozongo in Madagascar, and dukunsha in Ethiopia.
The Abyssinian violet grows in highlands from Ethiopia southwards to South Africa. It can also be found in south-eastern Nigeria, southern Cameroun, on Bioko and Madagascar.
In Ethiopia, leaves of Viola abyssinica are crushed and squeezed to get the juice, which is applied to hard leather, which it helps to soften. In Madagascar it is given as an antidote and to stimulate vomiting in a traditional medicine. Along the eastern border of Congo, it is rubbed with other herbs in butter to make a massage oil. Several unique cyclotides have been isolated from this species, that have cytotoxic properties and may be of use in the development of future medicines.
Viola abbreviata · Hookedspur violet · White Violet · Viola angustifolia · Field Pansy · Australian Native Violet · Viola betonicifolia · Viola lutea subsp. calaminaria · Canadian white violet · Horned Pansy · Viola cotyledon · Marsh blue violet
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Viola abyssinica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
