About

Viola tricolor is a common European wild flower, growing as an annual or short-lived perennial. The species is also known as wild pansy, Johnny Jump up (though this name is also applied to similar species such as the yellow pansy), heartsease, heart's ease, heart's delight, tickle-my-fancy, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, come-and-cuddle-me, three faces in a hood, love-in-idleness, and pink of my john.

The flowers can be purple, blue, yellow or white. It is the progenitor of the cultivated pansy, hence the common name.

Where it grows

It is common almost everywhere on the Eurasian continent, near the sea or inland, at altitudes ranging from 0 to 2,700 metres (8,900 ft). It grows in open grasslands, wastelands, mainly on acidic or neutral soils and usually in partial shade. It is also found on the banks and in the alluviums.

Uses

As an ornamental and medicinal plant, the wild pansy has been cultivated since the Middle Ages and bred in Britain since 1810. As some of its names imply, V. tricolor and other plants in the Viola genus (such as V. odorata, or sweet violet), have a long history of use in herbalism and folk medicine, particularly Iranian, Greco-Arab, Ayurvedic and Unani traditional health systems. Traditionally, it has been used to treat cardiovascular conditions, epilepsy, skin diseases, burns and eczema, and as an expectorant for respiratory problems such as bronchitis, asthma, and cold symptoms, and modern research has begun to corroborate these traditionally held knowledges and uses.

Other Viola plants

Hookedspur violet · Field Pansy · Australian Native Violet · Viola betonicifolia · Canadian white violet · Horned Pansy · Viola cotyledon · Marsh blue violet · Stately Violet · Dwarf marsh violet · Pioneer violet · Alpine violet