102 Mr. C. C. Babington on the British Violets. 



to make the subject easily understood. In Viola palustris we 

 have a stemless plant with ovate acute stipules, a short round- 

 ed spur, and the cells of the anther nearly parallel. Its want 

 of stem and short spur distinguish it from V. canina and V. 

 lutea, as do also its stipules ; the parallel cells and the spur 

 separate it from V. odorata and V. hirta ; and all these cha- 

 racters from V. tricolor. In V. odorata and V. hirta we have 

 stemless plants with lanceolate stipules and diverging cells to 

 the anthers, their antherine spurs also belonging to the lancet- 

 shaped section ; but the spur of V. hirta, by its near approach 

 to a linear form, satisfactorily distinguishes that plant from 

 V. odorata, in which it is truly lancet-shaped. We now come 

 to V. canina, under which I include the V. flavicornis and 

 V. lactea of Smith ; here we find lanceolate inciso-dentate sti- 

 pules combined with a decided stem, parallel antherine cells, 

 and a lancet-shaped spur. This combination of characters 

 clearly separates it from any of the foregoing. The two re- 

 maining species, V. tricolor and V. lutea, are distinguished from 

 all the others by their filiform spurs and palmate-pinnatifid 

 stipules, and are severally characterized by the parallel cells 

 and almost palmate-pinnatifid stipules, of which the terminal 

 lobe is linear-lanceolate, or lanceolate and quite entire, of V. 

 lutea', and the diverging cells and lyrate-pinnatifid stipules 

 with a more or less dentate or crenate terminal lobe of V. tri- 

 color. Under V. lutea I include the V. Curtisii of the ' Sup- 

 plement to English Botany/ as its differences are, according 

 to my views, of but slight value ; and I also consider V. arven- 

 sis as only a variety of V. tricolor. 



The following is the manner in which I consider that the 

 British species should be characterized and arranged:— 



Genus Viola, Linn, 



A. Antherine spur rounded, stipules ovate-acute, stems scarcely appa- 

 rent. 



1. V. palustris (Linn.). Cells of the anthers nearly parallel ; spurs 

 short, thick, rounded ; spur of the corolla very short, obtuse ; 

 leaves reniform- cordate, glabrous. PI. VII. fig. 1. — Eng. Bot. 444. 

 Reich. Icon. Fl. Germ. f. 4491. 



Antherine spurs concave below, convex above. Cells of the anthers 

 slightly separated below. Fl. pale lilac, with purple streaks. 

 Sometimes the petioles are slightly hairy, but usually they are gla- 

 brous. — If. . June, July, bogs and marshes in mountainous districts. 



B. Antherine spurs lancet-shaped, stipules lanceolate, stems scarcely 

 apparent, leaves cordate. 



2. V. odorata (Linn.). Cells of the anthers diverging below; spurs 

 lancet-shaped, blunt ; spurs of the corolla obtuse, straight ; lateral 



