Welcome to Violets.com Celebrating a world centered around violets. Violets are plants, violet is also a color and sometimes a noun such as a person's name. Then you have some plants like the popular american house plant known as the african violet or the dogtooth violet in europe which has no relation to the true violet. Plants |
 |
|
|
|
Violet as a plant Most violets are small perennial plants, but a few are annual plants and some are small shrubs. They typically have heart-shaped leaves, and asymmetrical flowers with four upswept or fan-shaped petals, two each side, and one broad, lobed lower petal pointing downward. The shape of the petals defines many species, for example, some violets have a "spur" on the end of each petal. Flower colours vary in the genus; many are violet as their name suggests, and some are blue, some yellow, some white, some cream; some are bicolored, often blue and yellow. Flowering is often profuse, and may last for much of the spring and summer. One quirk of some violets is the elusive scent of their flowers; along with terpenes, a major component of the scent is a ketone compound called ionone, which temporarily desensitises the receptors in the nose; sniff all you like, you won't get any more smell from the flower. Selected species The genus includes the dog violets, a group of scentless species which are the most common violets in many areas, the Sweet Violet Viola odorata (named from its sweet scent), and many other species whose common name includes the word "violet". Several species are known as pansies, including the Yellow Pansy of the Pacific coasts. The Common Blue Violet Viola sororia is the state flower of Rhode Island, Illinois, and New Jersey. Australia is home to a number of violets, including Viola hederacea and Viola banksii, first collected by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander on the Cook voyage to Botany Bay. The modern Garden Pansy (V. × wittrockiana) is a plant of complex hybrid origin involving at least three species, V. tricolor (Wild Pansy or Heart's-ease), V. altaica and V. lutea (Mountain Pansy). Violets are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Giant Leopard Moth, Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing and Setaceous Hebrew Character. People In biology In music In fiction Fictional characters Use in cuisine A candied violet or crystallized violet is a violet flower preserved by a coating of sugar syrup. Hot syrup is poured over the fresh flower (or the flower is immersed in the syrup), and stirred until the sugar recrystallizes, and is dried. This method is still used for rose petals, was applied for orange flowers in the past (when almonds or orange peel are treated this way they are called as pralines). Candied violets are still made commercially at Toulouse, France, where they are known as violettes de Toulouse. They are used as decorating or included in aromatic desserts. They also do not smell very nice! Medicinal use Other uses Violets.com |
|