SOME BRITISH VIOLETS 



11 



This plant belongs to the group of plants of which the repre- 

 sentative is V. saxatilis Schmidt. These are plants generally of 

 montane or submontane regions. The head-quarters of the group 

 mav be said to be perhaps the Pyrenees, but F. lepida Jordan has 

 been recorded for Britain, and in France has the following distri- 

 bution,!.^. Morbihan, Charente-Inferieure, Ardennes, Meuse ; V. 

 Froiwstii Boreau in France reaches Finistere and Morbihan ; and 

 V. contempta Jordan, Morbihan, Manche, so that representatives of 

 this group should be further searched for in this country. The 

 members of this group are allied, on the one hand, to the group of 

 V. Intea Huds., and on the other to that of V. tricolor (sensu 

 stricto). With the former they agree in having rather showy 

 flowers with petals always longer than the sepals, and being 

 perennials and subperennials. In the shape of the stipules they 

 agree rather with the latter, those organs beiuij pinnately partite ; 

 while in V. lutea they are digitately multipartite. The following is 

 a short description of V. carpatica, drawn up from specimens kindly 

 sent by Prof. Borbas : — 



Root not seen. Stems elongate, internodes about 3 cm. long. 

 Leaves ciliolate. Upper and middle leaves distinctly petiolate, 

 lamina oblong or oblong-lanceolate (differing in this respect from 

 V. pohjchroma Kerner, where the lamina is broader), grossly serrate- 

 crenate, sharply contracting to petiole, about 2-2-5 cm. long., and 

 less than 1 broad. Stipule ciliolate. pinnately divided, middle 

 lobe of stipule entire, narrow oblong, larger than the lateral lobes, 

 which are acute. Peduncles much longer than the leaves ; bracteoles 

 sometimes just below the curvature, sometimes 1-5 cm. below. 

 Sepals subacuminate, shorter than spur. Petals longer than sepals, 

 violet-coloured, the lowest and lateral with radiating black lines, 

 yellowish white in the throat, very similar to those of V. pohjchroma 

 kerner. The longitudinal diameter of flower is rather over 2 cm. 

 Capsule oblong, pointed a little shorter, or nearly as long as sepals. 



The plant submitted to Prof. Borbas from Cockerham moss 

 agrees with the above in almost every particular except that the 

 middle lobe of all but the upper stipules is somewhat crenate- 

 serrate and rather longer. 



V. NANA Corbiere, Fl. Normand. p. 81 (1893). This is one of 

 the most distinct of the forms of Viola coming under V. tricolor. 

 It is not recognized in the London Catalogue, but is the plant named 

 7. nemausensis Jord. by Trimen in this Journal for 1871, p. 99. 

 T'. nemausensis is now by some authors considered synonymous 

 with F. Kitaiheliana Roem. & Schultes. This plant would then 

 be F. Kitaiheliana Roem. & Schultes var. y nana Rouy & Foucaud, 

 Fl. de France, iii. p. 49 {V. tricolor L. var. tt nana J)C. Prod. i. 

 p. 304).* 



The distribution of this variety in France is maritime sands 

 in Calvados, Manche, Vendee, Charente-Inferieure, and Gironde. 

 Trimen's specimens in the National Herbarium are from St. Aubyn's 



* V. tenella Poir. Diet. p. 644 was referred to this variety by De Candolle 

 in the Frodromus. 



