Appearance
"V. odorata" can be distinguished by the following characteristics:⤷ the flowers are aromatic,
⤷ the flowers are normally either dark violet or white,
⤷ the leaves and flowers are all in a basal rosette,
⤷ the style is hooked,
⤷ the leaf-stalks have hairs which point downwards, and
⤷ the plant spreads with stolons.
These perennial flowers can mature at a height of 4 to 6 inches and a spread of 8 to 24 inches. The species can be found near the edges of forests or in clearings; it is also a common "uninvited guest" in shaded lawns or elsewhere in gardens.
Naming
It is commonly known as wood violet, sweet violet, English violet, common violet, or garden violet. The plant is known as "Banafsa", "Banafsha" or "Banaksa" in India, where it is commonly used as remedy for sore throat and tonsilitis. It is a hardy herbaceous flowering perennial.
Uses
Several cultivars have been selected for garden use, of which "V. odorata" 'Wellsiana' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.The sweet scent of this flower has proved popular throughout the generations particularly in the late Victorian period, and has consequently been used in the production of many cosmetic fragrances and perfumes. The French are also known for their violet syrup, most commonly made from an extract of violets. In the United States, this French violet syrup is used to make violet scones and marshmallows.
The scent of violet flowers is distinctive with only a few other flowers having a remotely similar odour. References to violets and the desirable nature of the fragrance go back to classical sources such as Pliny and Horace when the name ‘Ion’ was in use to describe this flower from which the name of the distinctive chemical constituents of the flower, the ionones – is derived. In 1923 Poucher writes that the flowers are widely cultivated both in Europe and the East for their fragrance, with both the flowers and leaves being separately collected and extracted for fragrance, and flowers also collected for use in confectionary and the production of a syrup.
There is some doubt as to whether the true extract of the violet flower is still commercially available at all. It certainly was in the early 20th Century, but by the time Steffen Arctander was writing in the late 1950s and early 1960s production had "almost disappeared".
The violet leaf absolute however remains widely used in modern perfumery.
Cultural
This may be the species mentioned in Shakespeare's famous lines:-⟶ "I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
⟶ Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
⟶ Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
⟶ With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine"
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