VIOLACE^— VIOLET FAMILY 



VIOLET 



Viola 



"Violets dim, 

 But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes 

 Or Cytherea's breath." 



— "The Winter's Tale," Shakespeare. 



The Violets compose a floral family whose members 

 vary but slightly from the type. The stems may be 

 long or short, the colors may vary along the chord of 

 violet-blue or orange-yellow, or the flowers may be 

 white. The spurs may be long or short, but, after all, 

 a Violet is a Violet and everybody knows the flower. 



The Violet family of plants includes many species; 

 the finding lists of our northern range record no less 

 than forty-three. Of our native species, some live in 

 woods, others in meadows, still others in moist, marshy 

 ground. They divide naturally into two clearly de- 

 fined groups: those having stems and those without 

 stems. In the stemless group the flowers are borne 

 on a peduncle that apparently comes directly from the 

 root as the leaves do. In the others the flower-stalk or 

 peduncle is borne on the plant-stem. 



The corolla is irregular. There are five petals: one 

 pair above, another pair are side petals; the lower 

 petal is broad and gives the visiting bees and butter- 

 flies a place to rest when they are seeking nectar. 



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