800 



VIOLACEAE 



1. V. pedata. 



Family 11. VIOLACEAE DC. Violet Family. 



Herbs, or in tropical regions occasionally shrubs or trees, with simple alter- 

 nate or opposite stipulate leaves, and perfect irregular solitary or clustered 

 flowers. Sepals and petals 5, the latter hypogynous, imbricated in the bud, the 

 lowermost often spurred. Stamens 5, the anthers erect, syngenesious or con- 

 nivent. Gynoeeium 3-carpellary. Ovary 1-celled, enclosing numerous ovules 

 on the 3 parietal placentae and becoming in fruit a loculicidal capsule. Seeds 

 anatropous. 



Sepals auriculate at base. 1. Viola. 

 Sepals not auriculate at base. 



Anthers syngenesious: upper and lateral petals nearly equal. 2. Cubelium. 



Anthers connivent: upper and lateral petals markedly unequal. 3. Calceolaria. 



1. VIOLA L.i 



Herbs, either leafy stemmed or stemless; petaliferous flowers mostly in early 

 spring on one-flowered peduncles: succeeded throughout the season by cleistogamous 

 flowers that bear abundant seed; stamens 5 in the petaliferous flower, the two lowest 

 with appendages that project into the sac or sj^ur of the odd petal; these two stamens 

 alone develojied in the cleistogamous flower. — Allied species freely hybridize when 

 growing together; the hybrids commonly display characters more or less intermediate 

 to those of the parent species, and show marked vegetative vigor but impaired fer- 

 tility; their ofl'spring are often much unlike the mother plant and unlike each other, 

 reverting variously to the characters of the two original species. 



I. Plants stemless: leaves and scapes from a rootstock or from runners. 

 A. Flowers without marked fragrance: plants indigenous. 

 a. Corolla violet or purple: plants without stolons. 

 * Petals all beardless: apetalous flowers wanting. 

 ** Lateral petals bearded: apetalous flowers present. 



t Cleistogamous flowers ovoid, on short prostrate 

 peduncles, their capsules usually brown. 

 Leaf-blades all palmately 5-11-lobed or -parted, or 

 rarely the first leaf of spring uncut: seeds 

 brown. 

 Plants villous-pubescent. 

 Plants nearly or quite glabrous. 

 Earliest and latest leaf-blades usually uncut, others 

 pedately 3-7-lobed, -parted, or -divided: 

 seeds generally buff. 

 Plants villous-pubescent. 



Cut leaf-blades mostly 3-lobed, with broadly 



open sinus. 

 Cut leaf-blades mostly 5-7-parted, with 

 narrow sinus. 

 Plants obscurely pubescent and glabrate: flowers 



deep violet: inhabitant of shady uplands. 

 Plants glabrous: flowers pale violet: inhabitant 

 of wet woods. 

 Leaf-blades all uncut. 



Plants nearly or quite glabrous. 



Flowers violet-purple: seeds brown. 

 Flowers rose-purple: seeds bulT. 

 Flowers pale violet or white: seeds buff. 



Vernal leaves narrow, gradually attenuate. 

 Vernal leaves broad, subcordate. 

 Plants villous-pubescent, especially on petiole 



and lower leaf-surface: seeds dark brown. 

 Plants hirsutulous on upper leaf-surface, else- 

 where glabrous: seeds bufl'. 

 tt Cleistogamous flowers on long ascending peduncles, 

 their capsules more or less brown. 

 Leaf-blades at vernal flowering narrowly cordate- 

 acuminate: seeds buff. 

 Auricles of sepals short appressed. 

 Auricles of sepals 2 mm. long, spreading. 

 Leaf-blades at vernal flowering subcordate, 3-lobed: 

 seeds bronze. 

 ttt Cleistogamous flowers subulate or sagittate, on 

 erect peduncles, their capsules green. 

 Spurred petal glabrous, the lateral ones with clavate 

 beard: leaves glabrous: blades uncut, broadly 

 cordate-ovate. 



V. palmata. 

 v. Egglestonii. 



^ Contributed by Dr. Ezra Brainerd. 



