Violet: Compilation of Wisdom, Recipes & Reflections

Apr 22 / MWIH Teacher Compilation
Violet greets us gently—arriving with the soft hum of spring, carpeting lawns like a gift from the fairies. Her tender leaves and purple blossoms hold stories of healing, nourishment, and emotional ease. She is cooling, moistening, and deeply comforting to the lymph, skin, heart, and spirit.

In this compilation, our teachers reflect on violet’s many gifts—from grief relief and skin care to spring recipes and lymphatic wisdom. 

Lori Rose, PhD says:
One of my favorite things about violets is that they reproduce by hidden underground structures as opposed to their above-ground flowers. With most plants, you need to leave enough flowers unharvested in order to make seeds and sustain the population. Thanks to the secretive violets, you can harvest all of the flowers and still be eco-conscious!
Learn with Lori in Herbal Medicine Making.

Robin McGee says: Violet. Ahhhhhh....my friend and ally...Cooling, moistening, delicious, mucilaginous, lymphatic, smoothing, calming...

Fav uses for Leaves:
  • Makes a delicious pureed soup with onion, all cooked in chicken stock, season with butter, salt and pepper then puree and add raw cream.
  • Fresh leaf topically to help pull heat out of red, angry skin (think poison ivy and sunburn)
  • Leaf-infused oil for a soothing, moisturizing, smoothing skin cream and breast massage oil or cream for lumpy breast tissue (great with poke oil and calendula oil for breast massage).

Best Tips:
  • Don't use percolation method for alcohol extraction. Violet is too mucilaginous for that, and the 'slime' will just sit on top of the marc and not go through.
  • Wilt the leaves at least a few hours to evaporate water content before macerating in oil to use for creams and salves.

Fav Signatures:
Blue-purple color
  • Usually calming, cooling. Can be sedating (I find this true with the Violet flower tincture but not the leaves).
Leaf shape:
  • Whole leaf is heart shaped and pelvis shaped. Folded side to side it looks like a lung. Folded in half bottom to top I see cleavage (remember the breast oil I just mentioned).
  • I have used fresh leaf applied topically over my heart to help lift deep grief from sudden loss of a pet. Violet said to me "You have me IN your heart, now put me ON your heart." So I did and immediately took a deep, deep breath and felt the grief and shock lift a bit.
  • Also use it in my Cough From Hell syrup to help moisten dry, aggravated tissues.
  • I've used it successfully time and time again in formula for clients with PCOS.
Fav uses for Leaves: Makes a delicious pureed soup with onion, all cooked in chicken stock, season with butter, salt and pepper then puree and add raw cream.
Fresh leaf topically to help pull heat out of red, angry skin (think poison ivy and sunburn)
Leaf-infused oil for a soothing, moisturizing, smoothing skin cream and breast massage oil or cream for lumpy breast tissue (great with poke oil and calendula oil for breast massage).
Best Tips: Don't use percolation method for alcohol extraction. Violet is too mucilaginous for that, and the 'slime' will just sit on top of the marc and not go through.
Wilt the leaves at least a few hours to evaporate water content before macerating in oil to use for creams and salves.
Fav Signatures: blue-purple color- usually calming, cooling. Can be sedating (I find this true with the Violet flower tincture but not the leaves).
Leaf shape: Whole leaf is heart shaped and pelvis shaped. Folded side to side it looks like a lung. Folded in half bottom to top I see cleavage (remember the breast oil I just mentioned). I have used fresh leaf applied topically over my heart to help lift deep grief from sudden loss of a pet. Violet said to me "You have me IN your heart, now put me ON your heart." So I did, and immediately took a deep, deep breath and felt the grief and shock lift a bit. Also use it in my Cough From Hell syrup to help moisten dry, aggravated tissues.
I've used it successfully time and time again in formula for clients with PCOS.
Much more to say about Violet, but I will stop now. - Robin McGee
Fav uses for Leaves: Makes a delicious pureed soup with onion, all cooked in chicken stock, season with butter, salt and pepper then puree and add raw cream.
Fresh leaf topically to help pull heat out of red, angry skin (think poison ivy and sunburn)
Leaf-infused oil for a soothing, moisturizing, smoothing skin cream and breast massage oil or cream for lumpy breast tissue (great with poke oil and calendula oil for breast massage).
Best Tips: Don't use percolation method for alcohol extraction. Violet is too mucilaginous for that, and the 'slime' will just sit on top of the marc and not go through.
Wilt the leaves at least a few hours to evaporate water content before macerating in oil to use for creams and salves.
Fav Signatures: blue-purple color- usually calming, cooling. Can be sedating (I find this true with the Violet flower tincture but not the leaves).
Leaf shape: Whole leaf is heart shaped and pelvis shaped. Folded side to side it looks like a lung. Folded in half bottom to top I see cleavage (remember the breast oil I just mentioned). I have used fresh leaf applied topically over my heart to help lift deep grief from sudden loss of a pet. Violet said to me "You have me IN your heart, now put me ON your heart." So I did, and immediately took a deep, deep breath and felt the grief and shock lift a bit. Also use it in my Cough From Hell syrup to help moisten dry, aggravated tissues.
I've used it successfully time and time again in formula for clients with PCOS.
Much more to say about Violet, but I will stop now. - Robin McGee
Hear more from Robin in our Becoming a Herbalist podcast. 

Dawn Lacska-Tommerdahl says:
In the spring, I often make something I call a Fairy cake to serve to guests at my first spring tea of the year.

  • 1 wheel of Brie
  • 1/4 cup of local honey
  • a handful of violet flowers freshly picked.
  • fresh Chives (or Garlic mustard), Tarragon, Dill, and Parsley chopped finely

Take the wheel of Brie and coat it with honey. Cover all sides with the finely chopped herbs. Place the violet flowers on the top and sides and drizzle honey over the top. Can serve with crackers, but it is delicious without them. 
Learn with Dawn in our Facial Assessment Class.

Jennifer Anne Tucker says: 
The common blue violet a gift from the lawn fairies and accompanied by an orchestra of spring bird songs and wild geese on the pond. The sight of the flowers brings me to my knees, bowing low for an earthly greeting. I enjoy a nibble of flower and leaf. My herbal mentor, Evelyn Snook’s lawn was a blue carpet of violets and we collected bowls of the blooms and in her kitchen conjured up syrups, violets floating in clear aspic salads, vinegars and we made infusions of the flowers turning the water magical blue for sipping in crystal glasses!
Join Jennifer Anne Tucker in some of our Herbs A-Z classes about Liver Herbs and St. John's Wort, 

Matthew Wood, MS says:
Violet is a sweet, moist flower and herb, meaning that it is suited nourishing and moistening. The roots look extraordinarily like lymphatic glands, so we know that this is an herb for lymphatic problems where the system is dry. It is for sore throat, constipation, dry hair and scalp. Finally, it is a major breast cancer remedy. Nobody understands this herb like Susun Weed, and her book from many years ago, Wisewoman's Herbal, has a masterful account on violet. The blue violets, whatever their species, are all used interchangeably--leaves and flowers together. The roots are emetic and not used. 
 
Phyllis D. Light, MA says:
Violet has a special affinity for the breast and lymph. It can break up lumps and reduce the size of lymph nodes. Violet pairs well with red clover to help move the lymph in the whole body and aid in detoxification. But violet is also good for the heart. We often think of rose for the heart and yes, it definitely helps open it. But let's take a moment to think about violet and the heart. On a physical level, violet helps thin the blood so it moves easier through the vessels. On an emotional level, violet helps soften harden emotions - anger, bitterness, resentment. It helps let go.
You can catch Phyllis in many classes, but here are some fan favorites: Southern Folk Medicine and B12, Intrinsic Factor & Methylation.

Violet doesn’t shout to be noticed. She whispers. She wraps us in softness. She offers beauty without asking for anything back. Through mucilage, lymph movement, heart-medicine, and springtime celebration—violet reminds us to slow down and feel.

She teaches that healing can be simple. Subtle. Sweet.



Want to learn more about violet? Get your free, printable set of spring Seasonal Herbalist Cards.

Plus you can explore violet more fully in our Learn Herbal Wisdom Facebook Group—we’re sharing videos, graphics, plant ID tips, and more every week!





As always make sure to forage for plants away from roads and pollution as much as possible. Never over-harvest any plant, as they are of course not only here for our enjoyment, but also here for the insects, bees, and birds. Have fun out there!
**Disclaimer** 
The information provided in this digital content is not medical advice, nor should it be taken or applied as a replacement for medical advice. Matthew Wood, the Matthew Wood Institute of Herbalism, ETS Productions, and their employees, guests, and affiliates assume no liability for the application of the information discussed.