Heartsease

the herb of heartsease (Violae herba)

Heartsease (Viola tricolor) is a low annual or biennial with small three-coloured flowers, usually in shades of violet, yellow and white; hence the Latin name tricolor. It grows in fields, on waste ground, on embankments and at the edges of woods, on sunny soil.

The flowering herb is gathered, that is the whole part above ground with the flowers, from May to August, in dry weather. It is dried in the shade, in a thin layer; the flowers are delicate and lose their colour if the drying is too slow.

Heartsease is not the same as the garden pansy, a cultivated form with large flowers which is not used in herbalism. In Ašič's collection the herb of heartsease appears in the PutiSIT blend.

Use and evidence

The EMA limits traditional use to the symptomatic treatment of mild seborrhoeic conditions of the skin. Claims about rheumatism, the kidneys, coughs and cleansing of the blood are not confirmed. EMA.