6. Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. 



Bark reddish-brown; leaves sessile; racemes 1.5-7 cm. long, 3-4 mm. broad; 

 bracts longer than pedicels; flowers pentamerous; sepals more or less acute, eroded 

 to irregularly denticulate, the inner 3 broader than the outer; petals 1-1.75 mm. 

 long, obovate to broadly elliptic-obovate; filaments inserted under the disk near 

 the margin between the usually emarginate lobes. 



Nat. of Euras.; introd. and widespread mainly in s. U.S. 



Fam. 92. Violaceae Batsch Violet Family 



Herbs, vines, shrubs or small trees with lobed or unlobed stipulate leaves; flowers 

 irregular, perfect, 5-merous, polypetalous, axillary; calyx with separate sepals, often 

 the two lowermost spurred; corolla bilaterally symmetrical, the lowermost petal 

 spurred or gibbous; stamens hypogynous, with adnate introrse anthers, the filaments 

 continued beyond the anther locules; ovary 1 -celled, 3-carpellate, with parietal 

 placentation, free from calyx; fruit a 3-valved capsule. Reduced cleistogamous 

 flowers produced in most species during summer; with 5 sepals, 2 rudimentary 

 petals that are not exposed and 2 stamens; pollen tubes grow directly from anthers 

 into ovary. 



About 800 species in 15 genera; cosmopolitan. 



1. Viola L. Violet 



Herbs (in our area) with large stipules; petals unequal, the lowermost spurred; 

 5 stamens closely surrounding ovary but not fused, two lower ones bearing spurs 

 that are housed in spur of basal petal; cleistogamous flowers produced by all species. 



About 450 species, cosmopolitan, but chiefly in temperate North America and 

 northern South America. 



The seeds of violets are eaten by upland game birds, such as doves and quail, 

 and wild turkeys not only eat the seeds but they relish the succulent rootstocks. 



1. Plants with leafy aerial stems 1. V. pubescens var. eriocarpa. 



1. Plants without leafy aerial stems (2) 



2(1). Petals white; stoloniferous (3) 



2. Petals blue to violet; not stoloniferous (5) 



3(2). Leaf blades ovate, 1.5 to 2 times as long as broad 2. V. primulifolia. 



3. Leaf blades linear to lanceolate, 3.5 to 15 times as long as broad (4) 



4(3). Leaf blades lanceolate, 3.5 to 5 times as long as broad 



3. V. lanceolata subsp. lanceolata. 



4. Leaf blades linear, 6 to 15 times as long as broad 



3. V. lanceolata subsp. vittata. 



5(2). Leaf blades divided (6) 



5. Leaf blades entire (7) 



6(5). Leaves pedately cut, with narrow lobes 4. V. septemloba. 



6. Leaves palmately cut, with broad lobes 5. V. esculenta. 



7(5). Leaves moderately to densely pubescent on both surfaces 6. V. sororia. 



1. Leaves glabrous on both surfaces or with fine hairs on upper surface only (8) 



8 (7 'J. Leaves glabrous on lower surface, bearing short stiff hairs on upper surface 



of basal lobes 7. V. nephrophylla. 



8. Leaves glabrous on both surfaces (9) 



1151 



