Viola (plant)

Hain violets ( Viola riviniana )

Violets or violas ( Viola ) are a genus of flowering plants in the family of Violet Family ( Violaceae ). Of the approximately 500 species, most thrive in the temperate zones of the earth. The centers of biodiversity are located in North America, the Andes and Japan. However, they are also found in Australia and Tasmania. Known types are pansies, violas and sweet violet.

  • 2.1 violets as ornamentals
  • 2.2 violets as a medicinal and culinary plants
  • 2.3 violets in perfumery
  • 5.1 Notes and references
  • 6.1 Identification keys

Description

Appearance and leaves

Violet species grow as an annual or biennial or perennial herbaceous plants usually, and rarely subshrubs. Often rhizomes are formed as outlasting. It may be more or less long, creeping designed to be upright, aboveground stem axis or missing.

The leaves can all stand basal together or be distributed alternate on the stem axis. The leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The leaf blades are simple or divided. The leaf margin is smooth or serrated. The small to large, foliage leaf-like stipules are free or more or less overgrown with long petioles.

Flowers

The flowers appear singly in the leaf axils on stalks that have two cover pages. Often the flowers are dimorphic, the cleistogamous ( closed lasting ) flowers develop later than the chasmogamen ( opening ).

The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and fünfzählig double perianth. The almost same five free or nearly free sepals usually have herbaceous ears ( tag ) at its base. The five free petals are clearly unequal. The lower petal is the largest and gesport at its base. It is a circle with five stamens present. The free stamens are relatively short. The upright anthers are free or mostly form a sheath around the ovary. The two lower anthers protrude into the spur and have a spur or warty, nektarsekretierende appendage at their base. Three carpels are fused to a constant above, unilocular ovary. Each ovary contains many anatrope ovules in parietal placentation. The curved almost upright or usually more or less downward pen is more or less thickened or sometimes gradually narrowed upwards and is smooth or has different appendages. The scar is shaped differently depending on the type.

Fruit and seeds

The lokulizidalen fruit capsules open with three elastic flaps, which are keeled or hand thickened.

The spherical to egg-shaped seeds have a light to dark, mostly smooth surface. There may be an aril. The seeds contain abundant endosperm and a straight embryo with two very thick, plano -convex cotyledons ( cotyledons ).

Use

Some violets species and varieties are used as ornamental plants. Some species and varieties are used as medicinal plants as well as kitchen and are used for cosmetic purposes.

Violets as ornamentals

In parks and gardens in flower beds or planters can be found as ornamental plants mainly the scent of violets, the horned violets and, most frequently cultivated, the garden pansy, also the Hain- violet with the form ' Purpurea' ( often not applicable as Viola labradorica called ), the blue violet with the varieties ' albiflora ' and ' Freckles ' and some alpine species for the rock garden. The Parma Violet is now rarely found in gardens.

Not to the species of violets ( Viola ), however, include the Alps and known as house plants African violet.

Violet as a medicinal and culinary plants

Sweet Violet, especially in March and Parma violets, long time played an important role in herbalism. Except in the field of naturopathy, aromatherapy particular, they find no more use. Flowers of fragrance and Hornveilchen can, just like pansies use in culinary and include, for example, to the ingredients of the original pear Helene recipe. The well known violet pastilles are, however, flavored with synthetic violets fragrances ( ionones ). With violet -flavored liqueur Crème de Violette is, and is produced at least since the early 19th century.

Violets in perfumery

The flowers from March and Parma Violets are processed into cosmetic products for centuries. The natural Veilchenblütenabsolue is now virtually disappeared and is replaced by the cosmetic industry by synthetic ionone. Veilchenblätterabsolue (from Viola odorata ) is, however, still widely used in the perfume production. So-called "natural violet perfume " is also derived from the so-called orris / iris root in a long time, it is dried rhizomes of different kinds of iris.

Etymology

For the scientific name Viola an independent borrowing of the Latin viola and the ancient Greek íon or Vion is assumed from a Mediterranean language. An exact equivalent of the Latin word is also found in the Greek name Iole, or older viola, the mythological daughter of King Eurytos of Oechalia in Euboea.

The German name Violet is directly attributable to the latin name Viola, the Old High German was to fiol.

The name pansy is to go back to a comparison: the top two, usually equipped with no drawing petals are the stepdaughters, side, conspicuous petals drawn the biological daughters and the large lower petal with the big Saftmal the mother.

Violets in mythology, folklore and literature: see Sweet Violet.

System

The first publication of Viola was in 1753 by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 2, pp. 933-937. Synonyms type species is Viola odorata L.. Viola L. are Erpetion Sweet and Mnemion Spach. The genus Viola is part of the tribe Violeae in the subfamily Violoideae within the family Violaceae. The genus Viola is divided into several sub- genres, such as Chamaemelanium, Dischidium, Erpetion, Melanium.

The genus Viola contains about 500 to 550 species:

  • Viola abyssinica Steud. ex Oliv. , this East African range extends from Ethiopia to South Africa and Madagascar.
  • Viola acanthophylla Leyb. ex Rich: It is native to Chile.
  • Viola accrescens Klokov: It occurs in southern European Russia and the Ukraine.
  • Viola acuminata Ledeb. ( Syn: .. Viola acuminata subsp austroussuriensis W.Becker, Viola austroussuriensis ( W.Becker ) Kom, Viola turczaninowii Juz, Viola biflora var acutifolia Kar & Kir. ): It comes in Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan and the Far East and eastern Siberia in Russia before.
  • Viola acutifolia ( Kar & Kir. ) W.Becker ( Syn: Viola biflora var acutifolia Kar & Kir. ): It occurs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Xinjiang.
  • Viola adenothrix Hayata ( Syn: Viola brachycentra Hayata, Viola taiwanensis W.Becker, Viola trichopoda Hayata ): It occurs only on Taiwan.
  • Viola Adriatica Freyn it also is in the northwest former Yugoslavia and in northeastern Italy.
  • Viola adunca Sm ( Syn: Viola cascadensis MSBaker, Viola uncinulata Greene): It is widespread in North America.
  • Viola aethnensis Parl: It is endemic of Mount Etna in Sicily.
  • Viola aetolica Boiss. & Heldr. It comes from the former Yugoslavia on Albania to Greece before.
  • Viola aizoon Rich: It is native to Chile.
  • Viola alaica Vved. ( Syn: Viola oxycentra Juz. ): It is native to Tajikistan.
  • Parma Violet and White Violet ( Viola alba Besser): Viola alba Besser subsp. alba ( syn.. Viola alba subsp scotophylla ( Jord. ) ​​Nyman, Viola armena Boiss & A.Huet, Viola scotophylla Jord. . ): It is widely used in Europe, Asia Minor and the Caucasus region.
  • Viola alba subsp. cretica (. Boiss. & Heldr ) Marcussen ( Syn: Viola cretica Boiss & Heldr. . ): It occurs only in Crete.
  • Viola alba subsp. dehnhardtii ( Ten. ) W.Becker ( Syn: Viola dehnhardtii Ten. ): It is widespread in the Mediterranean.
  • Viola calcarata L. subsp. calcarata
  • Viola calcarata subsp. villarsiana ( Schult. ) Merxm. ( Syn: Viola villarsiana Schult. )
  • Viola calcarata subsp. zoysii ( Wulfen ) Merxm. ( Syn: Viola zoysii Wulfen )
  • Viola canina L. var canina ( syn.. Viola ericetorum Schrad ex Link, Viola sylvestris Lam. )
  • Viola canina subsp. montana auct. ( Syn: Viola montana auct, Viola ruppii All. . )
  • Viola canina subsp. schultzii ( Billot ) Kirschl. ( Syn: Viola schultzii Billot )
  • Viola purpurea subsp. integrifolia M.S.Baker & J.C.Clausen
  • Viola purpurea subsp. Mohavensis ( MSBaker & JCClausen ) JCClausen ( Syn: Viola aurea subsp Mohavensis MSBaker & JCClausen. )
  • Viola purpurea Kellogg subsp. purpurea
  • Viola purpurea subsp. quercetorum ( MSBaker & JCClausen ) RJLittle ( Syn: Viola quercetorum MSBaker & JCClausen )
  • Viola purpurea subsp. venosa ( S.Watson ) MSBaker & JCClausen ( Syn: Viola nuttallii var venosa S.Watson )
  • Viola tricolor subsp. curtisii ( E.Forst. ) Syme ( Syn: Viola curtisii E.Forst. )
  • Viola tricolor subsp. macedonica ( Boiss. & Heldr. ) AFWSchmidt ( syn.. Viola macedonica Boiss & Heldr. )
  • Viola tricolor subsp. matutina ( Klokov ) Valentine ( Syn: Viola matutina Klokov )
  • Viola tricolor subsp. Subalpina ( Gaudin ) Schinz & Thell. ( Syn: Viola saxatilis FWSchmidt, Viola tricolor Subalpina Gaudin? )
  • Viola tricolor subsp. tricolor (syn.: Viola tricolor hortensis var DC, Viola tricolor var vulgaris Koch, Viola tricolor subsp vulgaris ( Koch) Oborný. . )

Swell

  • Yousheng Chen, Qiner Yang, Hideaki Ohba & Vladimir V. Nikitin: Violaceae. Viola - Online, In: Wu Zheng -yi, Peter H. Raven, Deyuan Hong (eds.): Flora of China.. Volume 13: Clusiaceae through Araliaceae, Science Press / Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Beijing / St. Louis 2007, ISBN 978-1-930723-59-7, pp. 138. (Section Description and systematics)
  • David Henriques Valentine, Hermann Merxmüller, Alexander Schmidt: Viola L. In: TG Tutin, VH Heywood, NA Burges, DM Moore, DH Valentine, SM Walters, DA Webb ( eds.): Flora Europaea. Volume 2: Rosaceae to Umbelliferae, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1968, ISBN 0 - 521-06662 -X, pp. 270-282 ( limited preview on Google Book Search ).
Rosids Australia (continent) Viola cornuta Cleistogamy Ovary (botany) Cereal germ Cyclamen Absolute (fragrance) Nectar guide Viola arborescens Caucasus Mountains Viola cheiranthifolia Joseph Banks Daniel Solander Botany Bay Karpathos Viola hirta Viola palustris Viola persicifolia Agricultural Research Service
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