heartsease

Viola arvensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malpighiales Family: Violaceae Genus: Viola Species: V. arvensis
Binomial name
Viola arvensis Murray

Viola arvensis is a species of the genus Viola. It is also called Field pansy. Also called Heartsease, possibly due to the odor of Wintergreen when the roots are crushed. This plant is native to Europe, but is found in old fields and waste ground in the eastern United States. Amongst the earliest of Violets to appear in the spring, it seems to utilize some sort of growth retardant on nearby plants^{[citation needed]}, appearing to be the only plant growing in the large masses it forms. Outside these colonies, the grasses and herbs grow normally.

Viola arvensis was shown to contain cyclotides, a class of peptides found in plants. The peptide cycloviolacin O2 in particular has shown to possess cytotoxic activity against human cancer cells and is therefore looked at as a potential drug lead ^[1].

References

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