Some quick notes on individual herbs....
HEARTSEASE
Common names include, Johnny Jump up, Little faces and of course, Heartsease, but it is, in reality just the wild form of Pansy.
It usually grows as an annual but can be a short lived perennial if the climate and garden allow.
Native to most countries throughout Europe and Asia, it is the stock from which all of the commercial pansy varieties have come.
Unfortunately, what the hybrids have gained in flower size and and colour is proportionate to what they have lost medicinally.
All above ground parts are harvested during the flowering period and can be dried or tinctured for later use.
The therapeutic conditions most often treated with Heartsease are skin complaints, ranging from eczema and impetigo to pruritis and acne.
Internally, it can be taken for throat infections or as an anti-rheumatic and tonic.
A tea can be made using 1.5 g of dried herb to 150 ml of water and taken up to three times daily.
In similar proportions to Sweet Violet, the mucilage content is around 10%, which would make it quite useful as an expectorant and also as an ingredient in skin creams.
Tincture extraction, as recommended by the USP is 45% v/v of aerial parts.
Homeopathic application of the herb is where we find it's greatest value.
The following summary is taken directly from Boerick's Materia Medica and we apply it where indicated......
VIOLA TRICOLOR
Wild Pansy
The principal uses of this remedy are for eczema in childhood and nocturnal emission accompanied by very vivid dreams.
Head. Heavy, pressing-outward pain. Eczema of scalp, with swollen glands.
Face hot and sweating after eating.
Throat. Much phlegm, causing hawking; worse in the air. Swallowing difficult.
Urinary. Copious; disagreeable, cat-like odour.
Male. Swelling of prepuce, burning in glands. Itching. Involuntary, seminal emissions at stool.
Skin. Impetigo. Intolerable itching. Eruptions, particularly over face and head, with burning, itching; worse at night. Thick scabs, which crack and exude a tenacious yellow pus. Eczema impetigonoides of the face. Sycosis.
Modalities. Worse, winter; 11 am. Compare: Lycop.
Relationship. Compare: Rhus; Calc; Sepia.
Dose. Lower potencies