l60 VIOLET FAMILY 



free from the calyx, maturing into a 1-celled many-seeded 

 capsule. 



Flowers white 1. V. blanda. 



Flowers blue 2. V. oxyceras. 



Flowers yellow. 



Leaves ^ to 1 in. wide, narrowed to the petiole 3. V. purpurea. 



Leaves 1 to 3 in. wide, broad or heart-shaped at base. 



Leaves mostly cleft or parted 4. V. lobata. 



Leaves merely toothed, heart-shaped 5. V. glabella. 



1. V. blanda Willd. Sweet White Violet. Plant low and 

 tufted, nearly glabrous, the leaves and peduncles all from an 

 underground rootstock. Leaves roundish, heart-shaped at 

 base, y 2 to V/i in. long. Flower-stalks 1 to 3 in. high, exceed- 

 ing the leaves. Petals about Y^ in. long, hairy, white, the 

 lower one dark-veined; spur short. 



The White Violet, which can never be mistaken, is a mod- 

 est inhabitant of cool, moist places from Hetch Hetchy, 

 Yosemite, and Crescent Lake to timber-line, often growing 

 where it is nearly hidden by grass or other plants. It is 

 especially fond of boggy meadows in high valleys. 



2. V. oxyceras Greene. Sierran Dog Violet. Plant low 

 and compact or 6 in. high and spreading, glabrous or nearly 

 so. Leaves round-ovate, Y\ to 2 in. long. Petals blue or vio- 

 let, yitoY 2 in. long, nearly equalled by the slender acute spur. 



This blue violet always grows in moist places and is most 

 frequently found on low, damp ground where the grass is 

 short or sparse. It is well distributed in the Sierra Nevada, 

 occurring with us at such localities as the Yosemite Valley, 

 along the Hog Ranch Road, White Wolf, and Tuolumne 

 Meadows. The true Dog Violet, of which this was formerly 

 considered a variety, is a well known species of northern 

 Europe. The so-called dog violets of eastern North America 

 have, like ours, been shown to be distinct from the Old World 

 species. 



3. V. purpurea Kell. Stems densely clustered, 3 to 9 in. 

 high, from a stout vertical root, the herbage grayish pu- 

 bescent. Leaves lanceolate to oblong, coarsely toothed, 1 to 

 2 in. long, often purplish veined. Petals yellow, brownish on 

 the outside, Y% in. long, the spur short and round. Ovary 

 and capsule globular, pubescent. 



The home of this violet is the open pine forest, where its 

 pale foliage and light-yellow flowers may be seen forcing their 

 way through the thin layer of pine needles. The small- 

 flowered form growing in dry or exposed situations, is var. 

 pinetorum Greene; its peduncles are longer, its leaves nar- 



