Today we will meet the Violet family - Violaceae. The family includes 25 genera and 1000 species of flowering herbs, lianas, shrubs and trees. The family derives its name from the genus Viola of violets and pansies. It is the largest genus in the family with around 400 species.

The family members occur mostly in the tropical and warm temperate regions although there are only few species found in this region.

Some of the characteristics of Violaceae plants include:

🍂: The leaves are usually simple (some species may have palmate or deeply dissected leaves) have stipules and are arranged alternately (sometimes opposite). Leaves often have toothed or lobed margins.

🌷The flowers are usually bisexual and zygomorphic (sometimes actinomorphic), with five free petals which may be blue, purple, yellow, or white in color. Stamens 5 in number often joined into a ring around the ovary and style. The 

ovary is superior with an unlobed or beak-shaped stigma.

🍒 The fruit is usually a small, dry capsule or berry that contains many seeds.

In Singapore, the following species of Violaceae plants can be found. 

🌷Viola banksii: This species is a small herbaceous plant that is found in a variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, and rocky areas. It has reniform or kidney-shaped leaves and small, zygomorphic flowers that are usually white with a purple center.

🌷Rinorea anguifera: This species is a small tree that is found in secondary forests and along forest edges. It has alternate, toothed leaves and small, radially symmetrical flowers that are usually yellow or green in color. Its fruit is round, up to 3.5 cm wide, and covered in a dense mass of branched hairs.

🌷Spade Flower (Hybanthus enneaspermus) which is a herbaceous plant bearing zygomorphic pinkish flowers and has been used in Indian traditional medicine where it is considered to be extremely beneficial and used as a diuretic, demulcent and tonic. The root is diuretic and is used in treating urinary infections and bowel complaints. Decoction of leaves and tender stalks is demulcent. The fruit is used to treat scorpion sting.

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