Viola Pallens

2 Pages 429 Words

Viola pallens “Northern White Violet”

This beautiful flower is a member of the Plantae Kingdom. Its Subkingdom is Tracheobionta. Division: Magnoliophyta, Class: Magnoliopsida, Subclass: Dilleniidae, Order: Violales, Family: Violaceae, Genus: Viola, and species: pallens.
Viola pallens, the Northern White Violet, is a North American native perennial herb. It is an autotroph with five white petals, the lower ones veined in a deep shade of purple. The fragrant petals are under one inch long are not radially symmetrical, therefore the flower is an irregular shape. The leaves are bluntly heart-shaped, alternate, basal, simple, and pinnate. The leaves and flowers are on separate stalks, and there is a wide indentation at the junction of the leaf blade and the leaf petiole. The plant is a dicotyledon with adventitious rhizomes that run across the ground forming a network of flowers.
The seeds are explosively ejected from the (fruit) capsule and then further distributed by ants. Viola pallens also plays host to caterpillars who like to eat the leaves. The leaves and flowers of the Northern White Violet are edible for humans as well. In fact, they are delicious and healthy. They contain a significant amount of Vitamin C and A. The flowers (and leaves) can be made into jelly, put in salads, boiled (for cooked greens), or dried for use as tea, among other applications.
Early European settlers used violets for medicinal purposes. The settlers made poultices out of the seeds and leaves and applied them to treat swelling and inflammation of the skin. The violets were also used as children’s laxatives. There is no reason why this therapy cannot still be applied today for the modern hiker or naturalist.
The Viola pallens blooms in March, April, and May. It can be found throughout most of North America except for the south central and southwestern United States. Its habitat is in moist woods, thickets, wetland, ma...