Opis:
In this video i highlight another of the flowers that some call 'weeds'! It is a common flower with an uncommon natural history. In this video I discuss the variety of violets, and the number of species and how they hybridize. I discuss past and present uses as both food and medicine. Violet leaves and flowers are edible. Leaves, rich in vitamin A and D can be used like spinach and in salads. The flowers can be made into a jelly, candy or syrup and even a blue refreshing tea or cold drink. In addition to vitamins, the leaves are rich in rutin, a powerful antioxidant flavonoid. While they have prolific flowers, they produce most of their seeds asexual in closed flowers called cleistogamous flowers. The seeds are also transported by ants who gather the seeds to remove the fatty or protein-rich elaiosomes and cast away the seed far from the original plant.