Pansy

Viola tricolor

Field Pansy Heartsease Johnny-jump-up Ladies'-delight Pansy Wild Pansy Parts used Uses Habitat and cultivation Constituents How much to take Collection and harvesting Combinations

An annual growing to more than 15 inches tall, pansy produces many seeds sprouting so readily that it reappears like a perennial. Its flowers (May-September), 1/2-1 inch long, display patterns of purple, white, and yellow.

"That's for thoughts," Shakespeare's Ophelia says of pansies, because their name comes from French pensée, "thought." In traditional "flower language," pansy's three colors-purple, white, and yellow-stand for memories, loving thoughts, and souvenirs, all of which ease the hearts of separated lovers. Pansy therefore is also called by the name heartsease, and its juice once served as an ingredient in love potions.

The flowers or whole flowering plant, either fresh or dried, yield a bitter tea that was employed to remedy a wide variety of ills. John Gerard's Herball (1597) quotes medical opinion that pansy tea is effective for infantile convulsions, goes on to commend it for "chest and lung inflammations," and also speaks of its effectiveness externally for scabs, itching, and ulcers. This external use caused pansy to be listed for a time in the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and has continued in herbal medicine. The tea also served in folk medicine as a fever-reducing remedy, a diuretic, a laxative, a sedative, an expectorant, a gargle, and a "blood purifier," or agent that rids the body of toxic substances.

PARTS USED

Aerial parts.

USES

Pansy is used mostly in three areas, the skin, lungs and urinary system. Pansy may be used in eczema and other skin problems where there is exudate (often called weeping) eczema. As an anti-inflammatory expectorant pansy is used for whooping cough and acute bronchitis where it will soothe and help the body heal itself. For urinary problems pansy will aid in the healing of cystitis and can be used to treat the symptoms of frequent and painful urination.

A tea or extract brewed from dried pansy flowers, from the whole flowering plant, or from the root long served in the treatment of skin ailments. It was applied externally as a lotion or taken internally to rid the body of toxic products that were thought to cause skin problems. Like its cousin Viola odorata, it was used as an expectorant, for loosening phlegm. Pansy has also been thought to be a demulcent (a substance that soothes mucous membranes, as of the respiratory tract). There is no scientific evidence regarding the validity of any claims made for pansy's healing properties.
Other medical uses - Hantavirus.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Pansy is native to Europe, North Africa, and temperate regions of Asia, and has become naturalized in the Americas. Pansy thrives in many habitats, from grassy mountainous areas to coastal sites, and is cultivated as a garden plant. The aerial parts are gathered in summer.

CONSTITUENTS

Pansy contains flavonoids, methyl salicylate, mucilage, gums, resin, and a saponin.

HOW MUCH TO TAKE

Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto 1-2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and leave to infuse for 10 - 15 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day.
Tincture: take 2 - 4 ml of the tincture three times a day.

COLLECTION AND HARVESTING

The herb can be collected throughout its growing season from March to August.

COMBINATIONS

For lung conditions pansy may be used with coltsfoot. For skin problems use pansy with red clover, nettles and cleavers. For cystitis combine pansy with couch grass and buchu.