Dog Violet is also known as Wood Violet. There are over 150 species of violet across the world, with sweet violet (Viola odorata) or Heartsease (Viola tricolor) often considered the medicinal species. Dog violet and sweet violet are very difficult to tell apart, especially as sweet violets contain beta-ionone which temporarily shuts off smell receptors and scuppers the main identifying factor, the scent! This lead to the folklore that a person can only smell sweet violets once in their lifetime! Instead just wait a minute or so and try again. 

Violets contain rutin – an antioxidant, vasoprotective flavonoid which can help keep blood vessels healthy, making it a great medicine for people who have varicose veins or haemorrhoids. It is also an expectorant which is both effective, but mild enough to include in children’s medicine, and has a cooling, soothing effect on inflammatory skin conditions.
It is also reasonably common to find violets in anything from a dark, vibrant purple, all the way to white, they sometimes grow directly alongside each other in nature.

It grows well in pots and can survive sparse watering in a semi-shady spot, so it’s best to cultivate it at home rather than collect in the wild as it often grows in delicate, ancient woodland habitats. If you pick a few leaves at a time, it will keep growing and flowering through the summer.

In Ancient Greece Violets were the flower emblem of Athens, and associated with Aphrodite, Goddess of love.