The caulescent violets of the southeastern United States 
EzrA BRAINERD 
Of the twelve indigenous species of stemmed violets in the 
eastern United States, ten occur in the states covered by Dr. 
Small’s Manual, but only one of the ten, Viola tripartita, is re- 
stricted to this region. Four of the ten are northern species, 
that find a congenial habitat in the South only in the Appalachian 
Mountains or foothills. 
The caulescent species of Viola east of the Rocky Mountains 
are not as difficult to the student of systematic botany as are the 
acaulescent species. This is due largely to the fact that the 
species are fewer and less frequently hybridize with each other, 
and consequently do not present in the field so many perplexing 
intermediate forms. The early students of the genus were thus 
able to present a more accurate account of these species. Indeed 
their treatment by Schweinitz in 1822 is in most particulars 
confirmed by recent researches. His chief fault was the common 
one of his age, a disregard of the claims of priority in the naming 
of species, so that five of the eleven southern forms are presented 
under untenable and often misleading names. But his Latin 
descriptions are so full and accurate, that a careful reading leaves 
no doubt as to the plant he had in mind, and shows that his 
work was so thorough and discriminating that after nearly ninety 
years not a single indigenous species or variety needs to be added 
to his list. 
The ten southern species fall naturally into three sections, 
readily distinguished by differences in styles and stipules. The 
first section is marked by a capitate style and by stipules nearly 
entire and soon scarious; it comprises the four yellow violets and 
V. canadensis. 
VIOLA HASTATA Michx. is in several respects unique among the 
yellow caulescent violets. The dilated basal lobes are broadly 
rounded, not acute as in the strictly hastate leaf; so that the blade 
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