Viola. XVll. VIOLACE.E. 175 



roc. terminal and lateral; jls. sessile, those of the stem winged, those of the root 

 apterous.— 7]. Fields and pastures, Can. to Flor. and La. Stems crowded, 

 many Irom the same root, angular, smooth. Leaves smooth, lower obovate 

 upper linear-lanceolate, obtuse, sessile. Flowers, crested, pui'ple, smaller than 

 the last. Wings ot the cilyx obtuse. Anthers 8, in 2 equal parcels. Bracts 

 small, subulate, caducous. Terminal racemes with perl'ect tiowers radical 

 racemes prostrate or subterraneous, wingless and nearly apctalous. Jn. Jl.— 

 Bitter and tonic. 



* * * Flowers large, few. 



10. P. PAUCIF0LL4. Fringed Polygala. 



St. simple, erect, naked below ; 'ics. ovate, acute, smooth ; terminal Jls. 

 large, crested, radical ancs apterous. — % A small, handsome plant, with a few 

 rather large purple flowers. Woods and swamps, Brit. Am. to Ga. Stema 

 3 — 4' high, with its acute leaves mostly near the top, 2 — 4 flowers above tliem. 

 Calyx of 5 leaves, the upper one gibbous at base. Corolla mostly purple, with 

 a purplish crest on its middle lobe.- The radical flowers are either close to the 

 ground or subterraneous, smaller, greenish, wanting the wings oi the calyx. May. 



Order XVII. VIOLACE^.— Violets. 



Plants herbaceous or shrul)by. 



Lvs. simple, altei));ite, sometimes opposite, stipulate, involute in vernation. 



Cat — Sepals 5. |ieisi>itTil, .shi^liily iiiiikil, elongated at base, the 2 lateral interior. 



Co?'.— Petals 5, I'oiiimonly ui;eni!iil, thu iiilerior usually spurred at base. 



Sta. 5, usually iiisltIliI on the hyjiouyiious disk. Fit. dilated, prolonged beyond theanlh. 



Ova. of 3 united carpels, with 3 parietal idacentae. Sli/. 1, declinate. Sllg: cuculJate. 



Fr. a3-valved capsule. Sets, many, with a crustaceous testa and distinct chalaza. 



Genera 11, species 300, mostlyinhabitaiits of the Northern Temperate Zone. The roofs of almost all 

 the Violaceaj possess emetic properties, and some .are ViJued in medicine. The Ipecac of the shops is 

 partly the product of certain IJrazilian species of lonidium. Several species of the violet are cultivated 

 for the beauty of their flowers. Of the 4 genera found in North America, only 2 are found in the Northern 

 States. 



Genera. 



Sepals uncqu.T-l, more or less auricled at base Viola. 1 



Sepals nearly e(iual, not auricled at base. Solea. a 



1. VI Ola. 



Sepals 5, oblo.ng, acute, equal, auricular at base ; petals 5, irregular, 

 the upper one (lower by resupination) broadest, spurred at base, the 

 2 lateral equal, opposite; stamens approximate; anthers connate, the 

 lobes diverging at base; capsule 1 -celled, 3-valved, seeds attached to 

 the valves. — % Low herbaceous plants, acaulesce?it or caulescent. JPe- 

 duncles angular, solitary, \-fiowerecl, recurved at ilie summit so as tobeai- 

 thejlowers in a resupinaie position. 



*' Acaulesccnt. Flovxrs Hue. 



1. V. SELKmKir. Goldie. Selkirk's Violet. 



Lvs. cordate, crenately serrate, minutely hirsute above, smooth beneath; 

 the sinus deep and nearly closed ; stig. triangular, margined, distinctly beaked ; 

 spur nearly as long as the lamina, thick, very obtuse. — Grows on woody hills 

 and mountains, Mass., N. Y., Can. A small, .stemless violet, with small pale 

 blue flowers conspicuously spurred. The radical, heart-shaped leaves are 

 rather numerous and longer than the peduncles. The lateral petals bearded, 

 and with the upper one striate v\'ith deep blue. 



2. V. cucuLLATA. Ait. (V. aflinis. L-; Conte.) Hood-leaved VuM. 

 Smooth, sometimes more or less pubescent ; lvs. cordate, cucullate at 



base, crenate;'s//>. linear; 'niferinr and lateral petals bearded.— This is one of 

 the more common kinds of violet, found in low, grassy woods, from Arctic Am. 

 to Flor. Leaves on long petioles, heart-shaped, remarkably rolled at the base 

 into a hooded form. The lato leaves are crenate-reniform. Flovv^ers light blue 

 or purple, with .scapes somewhat 4-sided, longerthan the leaves. Petals twisted. 



