TEXTANDRIA. MOXOGTNIA. 147 



C25. VJOLA. L. (Violet.) 



Calix 5-leaved, pi'oduced at the base. Corolla 

 5-petalle(l, irregijlar, the lower jietal cornute 

 beliiiid. Jlnthers connivent, cohering at the 

 membranaceous apex. Capsule superior, 3- 

 valvcd, 1 -celled. 



Herbaceous, rarely shrubby; leaves alternate, stipulate; 

 peduncles radical or axillary, l-flowered, flowers often 

 inverted. (Capsule cartilaginous, obtusely triang-uiar, 

 valves seminuerous in the middle, contractiiig- when open, 

 and ejecting- the seeds with elasticity; seeds in 3 rows, 

 covered with a fragile coloured shell; hilum carunculate; 

 corculum erect and flat, in the centre of a carneous peris- 

 perm; cotyledons roundish-oval, radicle cylindric. — All 

 the North American species of Viola, like the V. cmiinciy 

 continue throug-h the summer to produce apetalous flow- 

 ers and fruit; (with the exception of the anomalous V. 

 ooncolor.) in the stemless species the fruit thus produced 

 is generally near the root and not unfrequently beneath 

 the soil. The V. striata, which continues flowering" in the 

 vicinity of Philadelphia until June, begins to produce 

 apetalous flowers in July in consequence of the elevated 

 temparature. The genus Viola then belongs to the tem- 

 perate zonr, where it continues to flower as long as it 

 produces leaves ) 



Species. §. i. Stemless. — 1. V. peclaia. Stigma large, 

 compressed at the sides, apex obliquely truncate, perfo- 

 rate. — Uhave never seen any other violet with a stigma 

 similar to this. 



2. palmata. Leaves always more or less pubescent on 

 both sides; during the period of infloreucence, palmate or 

 lobed, before and after flowering, entire, cordate or re- 

 niform, and only then to be distinguished from V. cu- 

 cuUata by the constancy of the pubescence; stigma capi- 

 tate, recurved, rostrate, depressed, margined all roundj 

 segments of the calix acute. 



3. sagittata. Leaf, nearly smooth, or sometimes slightly 

 pubescent on the upper side, often hastate; flower scarcely 

 to be distinguished from that of V. cucullata. /3. *emargina'' 

 ta. Leaves similar to those of V. sagittata, almost triangular- 

 ly cordate, or hastate, lacerately toothed near the base and 

 decurrentin a narrow margin on the petiole, always smooth 

 beneath, often pubescent above; scape longer than the 

 leafj petals obovate, all emarginateor bi-dentate, the lo\y- 



