VIOLET FAMILY VIOLACEAE 
BIRDFOOT VIOLET 
Viola pedata L. 
In some parts of the world there are shrubs and even 
trees that belong to the Violet family, but our Violets are 
all herbaceous plants, of which only cultivated Pansies 
are economically important. 
The many Violets, some 
white, some yellow and 
some blue, are much alike 
and sometimes not readily 
distinguished. Cross-polli- 
nation and the resultant 
forming of hybrids compli- 
cates attempts to find 
specific types. 
The Violets may be con- 
N veniently divided into two 
Ms aie 
L, \ groups, one comprising the 
=> a Ni y species with leafy stems and 
y yw & the other those species in 
which the stem is under- - 
ground and the leaves and flower stalks appear to be 
growing directly from the ground. 
This species, rivaling the cultivated Pansy, is one of the most 
beautiful of our wild Violets. It is not as common here as it 
is farther east, Massachusetts and southwestward, but it is 
locally abundant in dry or sandy fields and hillsides and in open 
woods. 
The underground stem is short, stout and erect, and from 
it are given off the heavy fibrous roots. The leaves, as shown, 
are cleft into segments resembling the claws of a bird, and give 
the plant its common name. 
The Birdfoot Violet blooms in May and June and sometimes 
produces a few flowers again in late summer or autumn. The 
typical flower has the 2 upper petals dark violet and the 3 lower 
lilac-purple with dark veins, but the common Illinois form has 
all 5 petals lilac-purple. The orange tips of the stamens are 
large and conspicuous in the center of the flower. The pods are 
smooth and green, and the seeds are copperish. 
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