Viola inconspicua

Viola inconspicua is native to China and Java Island that first recorded by Blume (1825). Then distributed in China, Japan, and South-East Asia including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Vietnam. This species has activity that can be used in traditional medicine in Thailand. Young parts are eaten as a vegetable.

 Violeta (Portuguese), Chang e jin cai (Chinese), Hime-sumire (Japanese), Hwa-sal-ip-je-bi-kkot (Korean).

Can be found growing in grasslands, field sides, path margins, roadsides, forest margins, below 1.600-2.400 m.

• Roots - yellowishwhite or light yellowish-brown, elongate, thick
• Rhizome - erect or obliquely ascending, 1-2 cm, robust, 2-8 mm in diameter, densely noded, with white roots.
• Leaves - basal, rosulate; stipules 3/4 adnate to petiole, free part lanceolate, 3-7 mm, margin sparsely shortly fimbriate-dentate, rarely entire, usually brown rusty dotted, apex acute, petiole 2-7 cm, usually glabrous or rarely shortly pubescent; leaf blade triangular-ovate, 1.5-9 × 1-7 cm, 1-2.2 × as long as wide, broadest at base, usually glabrous, rarely puberulous, base cordate with usually prominent, rounded basal lobes, decurrent to 1/3 length of petiole and narrowly winged, apex acuminate or acute.
• Flowers - purplish or white, with darker striations, pedicels usually subequaling or slightly exceeding leaves, slender, glabrous or puberulous in upper part, 2-bracteolate slightly above middle, bracteoles linear. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, 4-7 × 1-1.8 mm, apex acute, glabrous or ciliate. Petals oblong-obovate, 7-9 mm, lateral ones bearded or rarely glabrous, anterior one 1-1.2 cm (spur included), spur tubular, 1.8-3(-4) mm, straight, obtuse. Spur of anterior stamens angular, base broad, apex acute. Ovary globose, glabrous; styles clavate, base slightly geniculate; stigmas flat at top, with broader margin on lateral sides, shortly beaked in front, with a stigmatic hole opening upward at tip of beak.
• Fruit - capsule oblong, 8-10 mm, glabrous.
• Seeds - deep green, ovoid-globose, 1-1,5 mm, 0,8 mm in diameter.

Generative propagation is by seed, and vegetative propagation is by division and cutting.

Cyclotides. It is considered to be needed more detail studies on this.

• In Vietnam, it is used for conjunctivitis, pimples, inflammation of the breast, a sore throat, yellow fever and diarrhoea with vomiting. 
• It has antimicrobial activity.