Heartsease

         Viola tricolor

Family: Violaceae
Genus: Viola
Species: V. tricolor

Synonyms and Common names: Wild pansy, love-lies-bleeding, love in idleness, live in idleness, Herb Constancy, bullweed, bird’s eye, herb trinity , Johnny jumper, stepmother.

Description and Habitat: Heartsease is an annual or perennial herb common on disturbed, sandy soils in Britain and Western Europe and which grows up to 40 cm in height. It has a semi-creeping or ascending stem, usually richly branched, growing from a spindle-shaped simple root. The alternate, stalked leaves have large stipules, deeply lobed and with an oval terminating section. The lower leaves are almost round, the upper ones oval and coarsely to sparsely toothed at the edges. The bisexual symmetrical flowers, 1-2.5cm across, grow individually from the leaf axils on long stalks which bend into a hook at the top with a small stipule. The five tapering and pointed sepals have a round or oval appendix at the base. The corolla is light yellow and the upper petal and spur usually purplish. The five stamens have short filaments. The superior ovary matures into an oval capsule with light brown seeds. 

This pretty, low-growing annual plant is generally considered a weed, although the cultivated varieties produce a wide range of colours in our gardens. The wild variety, called wild pansy, love-lies-bleeding and herb trinitatis in different parts of the British Isles, is the one you want for medicinal purposes. Pansies perform best in cooler weather, and are therefore usually planted in spring or autumn, to give themselves a chance to settle in before hot weather arrives. They like rich, well-drained soil high in organic matter, and full sun or partial shade – in very hot sun they cease to produce flowers, so if you are growing them medicinally, aim to have some shade in the day. Pansies will flower even more profusely and longer if spent flower heads are removed. The wild variety can be purchased from mail order catalogues either as seed or plug plants.

Parts used: The dried flowering plants are used entire, with or without roots as you please.

Harvesting: They are best harvested when in full flower and dried as swiftly as possible in airy shade.

Constituents: Flavonoids (including violanthin, rutin), salicylic acid and salicylates, saponins, unidentified alkaloid, tannins, mucilage, gums, resin.

Actions: Expectorant, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antirheumatic, laxative.

Indications: Pertussis, acute bronchitis, cystitis, polyuria and dysuria, capillary fragility. cutaneous affections. Specifically indicated in eczema and skin eruptions with serous exudate, particularly when associated with rheumatic symptoms.

Therapeutics and Pharmacology: Viola tricolor can be used both internally and as a compress or ointment in the treatment of eczema, psoriasis and acne and it is a suitable remedy for clearing cradlecap in babies. It is also to treat gout and rheumatoid arthritis, where the salicylates and rutin exert an anti-inflammatory action.  It can be used to treat a variety of respiratory disorders such as catarrhal bronchitis. The saponins account for its mild expectorant action and the mucilage is soothing to the respiratory tract. The herb is also diuretic and can be used as part of a treatment for polyuria and dysuria. It is reputed to be of benefit in nocturnal enuresis in children.

The flowers contain a high concentration of rutin which helps prevent bruising and heals broken capillaries. It also reduces fluid build-up in the tissues and helps prevent atherosclerosis, thereby lowering blood pressure.

Contraindications: Heartsease should not be used in excessive amounts (many times the recommended dosage) nor for prolonged periods of time, as large doses may cause skin irritations, nausea and vomiting (as the root and seeds can have emetic and purgative properties).  Heartsease should not be used in conjunction with prescription diuretics nor medications for asthma.

Preparation and Dosage: A tea prepared from the dried plant – use about 1 to 2 tablespoons in a litre of cold water, boil and allow to stand, is used to treat water retention, catarrh and for skin eruptions such as pimples and boils. In this latter case, you can reinforce the beneficial effects by using a compress of the same infusion on the affected area. The same tea can be taken twice a day to treat rheumatism, especially if it is feverish.

Additional Comments & Folklore: An infusion of the plant was said to help mend a broken heart, hence its common name Heartsease. The flowers have also been used to make yellow, green and blue-green dyes.

Long before cultivated pansies were developed, Heartsease was associated with thought in the "language of flowers", often by its alternative name of pansy (from the French "pensée" - thought): hence Ophelia's often quoted line in Shakespeare's Hamlet, "There's pansies, that's for thoughts". What Shakespeare had in mind was Heartsease, not a modern garden pansy.