(64) Violet
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This series introduces about 300 types of plants that I have seen while out for a walk.
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The violet, of the genus Viola in the Violaceae family, is
a wild plant that blooms with deep purple flowers by the roadside in spring,
known as a representative of the many types of violets in Japan, found from Hokkaido to Yakushima.
Outside of Japan, it is found from Korea and China to the Ussuri region,
growing in various places from sunny flatlands and roadsides in mountainous areas to urban environments.
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The seed pods of this species of violet have a mechanism to spread by bursting open, but they also have an unusual strategy for expanding their habitat.
What is that strategy?
The seeds have a substance on their ends that ants like, and because the ants try to carry them back to their nests, the seeds end up being transported far away.
It is not uncommon for ants to build nests in the cracks of concrete.
Perhaps thanks to this, violets are quite often found growing in cracks in concrete as well.
Narrow cracks in concrete are hard for other plants to invade once they have entered, and the soil surface is less likely to dry out, so one could say the violet is a clever strategist that has tenaciously secured an advantageous location.
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Changing the subject,
there are historical figures who loved violets.
Napoleon I's love for violets is famous, with stories that he gave them as birthday presents to his wife Josephine,
and that when he was defeated in his final battle and sent into exile, he left behind the words, "I will return when the violets bloom."
Also,
Queen Victoria of England loved violets, and it is said that they appear in her diary 105 times.
The violets they referred to were European ones,
which are slightly different from this species of violet,
and I suspect they were likely sweet violets...
Even so, they are small and very lovely flowers.
It feels mysterious why people who held such great fame and power, like them, would prefer small violets rather than luxurious flowers.
In Europe, it seems that violets were considered symbols of humility and pure loyalty due to their appearance, so
for those who had seen various rises and falls, perhaps these were things they longed for and sought after incessantly.
Or perhaps,
there are naturally painful moments in the daily lives of those in high positions.
Therefore,
did they want to become something like a beautiful wild plant?
In any case,
it is a plant that stirs the imagination.
Narration script cooperation: Jingai Nagima-sama, Special Thanks!!
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Postscript.
Violets are known as one of the edible wild plants, with the young shoots, young leaves, buds, and flowers being used.
The best time for harvesting is considered to be April to May in warm regions and around May to June in cold regions, and the young shoots and leaves are picked along with their petioles. The leaves have little bitterness; they are lightly boiled, placed in water to cool, and then used in ohitashi (blanched greens), dressed dishes, vinegared dishes, or finely chopped and mixed into rice to make "violet rice," or eaten raw as tempura, in soups, or in salads.
In addition to this species of violet, other edible varieties include the Viola grypoceras, Viola crassa, Viola rossii, and Viola japonica.
However, caution is required because other plants in the Violaceae family, such as pansies and sweet violets, can be toxic.
Regarding pansies and the like, there is no problem if you properly prepare and eat those sold as edible flowers.
Pansies sold for ornamental purposes rather than for consumption are not suitable for eating due to the pesticides used on them.
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