182 



FAMILIES OF FLOWEKING PLANTS, 



nial herbs. The geuus Viola far outnumbers other members of the 

 family, having nearly 200 species, about equally divided between the 

 Old and the New World. Without possessing any claims to showiness, 

 the violet is one of the most attractive as well as artistic flowers to be 

 found throughout the whole range of seed plants. Before discussing 

 the distinct types of habit and floral structure, let us examine the char- 

 acters of the Violet Family. They have leaves provided with stipules 

 (leafy bracts) at the base, and solitary or clustered irregular flowers. 

 The sepals are 5; the corolla also consists of 5 petals, the lower one of 

 which is usually much larger and differently shajjed, or else provided 



Fig. i6i. Flower and fruit of Bi'xa Orellana, considerably reduced- Origfinal. 



with a spur. A twist in the peduncle causes this petal frequently to 

 appear upi)ermost. There are 5 stamens, the anthers being more or 

 less united into a ring. The ovary is 1-celled, with 3 placentae or par- 

 titions, developing into a 3-valved capsule. 



We may dismiss most of the genera with brief consideration. Gu- 

 helium, the so-called green violet of our Atlantic States, does not afford 

 a hint of its relationship in its coarse foliage and upright stems; but the 

 tiny flowers scattered along the latter are decidedly suggestive of un- 

 dersized and stai-ved violet blooms. Calceolaria is a herb of the south- 

 west and the tropics, the flowers of which are also inconspicuous. 



Probably there is no other genus of flowering plants in which the 

 divisions are so well marked as in Viola, and the species fall into natu- 



