Edible : Leaves, Leaves - tea,
A herb without a stem. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows 6-10 cm high. The rootstock are buried deeply in the soil. Leaves and flowers emerge in the spring. The leaves come from the base from the roots. The leaves are oval or triangle shaped. They vary in shape or size. The flowers are purple. The flowers are fertilised before the flower opens. They do not have a smell. The fruit are oval capsules.
A tropical plant. It grows in grassland and the edges of forests in China below 1,600 m above sea level. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Common names : Chinese violet, Hoa-tim an, Li tou cao, Tsingimba,
Synonyms :
Viola betonicifolia subsp. novaguineensis D. M. Moore;
and several others