The Herbarium
Part XII · Lookalikes
Field pair
Heartsease for sweet violet
Heartsease and Sweet violet — take this sheet to the bed, not a guess to the kettle.
Easy to confuseGarden
Heartsease for sweet violet
Two violet-family faces. The kitchen candy is usually Viola odorata. Bedding pansies are a different, milder leaf, and some bedding mixes are not grown as food.
Sweet violet is a low perennial with a true perfume and a spurred, nodding flower. Heartsease and pansies are blotched faces held up to the light. Eat only what you grew as food, and know which species it is.
The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.