Heartsease is an annual or perennial plant that grows throughout Hungary. Its characteristic, short, spurred flowers blossom singly on long stems from June to late autumn, to be seen frequently on dry meadows and on the fringes of arable lands overgrown with weeds. Shoots of heartsease are slightly branching, 30-40 cm tall, the phyllotaxis of its ovoid, sparsely crenated leaves is alternate, and large stipulas may be seen at the base of leaves. Heartsease received its Hungarian folk names – ’bakszakáll’ (He-Goat’s Beard), ‘császárszakáll’ (Emperor’s Beard) – from its flowers, as the bottom one of their five petals, turning downwards, resembles a beard with its fine lines. It petals are violet-blue, yellow, and white: heartsease received its name ‘trinity violet’ from these three colours. An interesting explanation of how heartsease received its Hungarian name, ‘árvácska’ (a diminutive form of the word for ‘orphan’), may be read in a description by József Szabó (1824), published in a work by Rapaics called “A magyarság virágai” (“The Flowers of the Hungarian People”): “Of the five petals of heartsease, the bottom one is single and yellow, wherefore this one represents “step-mother” envy. It envies the pretty violet colour of the two upper petals, therefore these are the orphans. Between the envious step-mother and the orphans sit the daughters of the step-mother, these are the simple coloured, middle petals.” Heartsease is a plant that has been known and popular since the Middle Ages, under the name ‘iacea’ and ‘viola trinitatis’. L. Marini published his work, “Wreath”, in Prague in 1581, which was translated by Lukács Péchy into Hungarian under the title, “Az keresztény szüzeknek tisztességes koszorúja” (“The Honest Wreaths of Christian Virgins”) 10 years later. Twenty flowers are listed in this book as symbols of good morals, including three-coloured heartsease, under the name ‘tarka ivola’ (‘many-coloured violet’). It is listed by Lippay (1664) among the flowers of “The Garden of Bratislava”, with fragrant violets and white stocks.

Because of their expectorant and mildly diuretic effects, the ingredients in heartsease were used in many ways in folk medicine. Tea made from heartsease was used to treat rashes, urinary problems, or to induce sweating, and heartsease was used in expectorant tea mixtures. Combined with a meat-free diet, a tea mixture was made from devil’s bit scabius (Scabiosa pratensis), greater burdock (Arctium lappa), leaves of common walnut (Juglans regia), and heartsease against eczema-type skin diseases. Today, it is used as an ingredient in tea mixtures for treating coughs in the case of respiratory tract infections.

Heartsease is also utilised by the cosmetics industry. Thanks to its saponin and flavonoid content, heartsease is a softener, skin protective substance, or soothing agent in cosmetic products.

Blooming shoots (Violae tricoloris herba, Jaceae herba)

- Triterpene saponins
- Methyl ester of salicylic acid glycosides
- Flavonoids (rutin, violantin, scoparin, vitexin, saponaretin, orientin)