 |
HEART'S EASE
VIOLA TRICOLOR A strong decoction or syrup of the herb and flowers is an excellent cure for the venereal disease.Also known as the Wild Pansy, the flowers are a beautiful purple variegated with yellow. Where to find it: Fields and gardens. Flowering time: Spring and summer. Astrology: The herb is saturnine, cold, viscous and slimy. Medicinal virtues: Good for convulsions in children and a remedy for the falling-sickness, inflammation of the lungs and breasts, pleurisy, scabs and the itch.The flowers are cooling, emollient and cathartic when used on their own, but it is best to make a syrup of them when they are fresh, as their virtues are lost by drying. Modern uses: The Pansy is mildly laxative, diuretic, diaphoretic and expectorant. It is also considered to be a good blood purifier. An infusion is recommended for skin eruptions in children, catarrh and asthma. The dose is half a teaspoonful of the powdered leaves in a cupful of boiling water. |