Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 213 



COMMON VIOLET (Viola cucullata) is the common- 

 est and best known of all the violets. It grows in low 

 land everywhere, in woods, meadows, marshes 

 or along roadsides. It is a very beautiful and vari- 

 able species both as to size and color of blossoms and 

 to shape of the leaves. If the ground is dry, the 

 plants will be small, and the flowers nodding from 

 scapes perhaps 3 inches high. In rich swampy 

 ground we find it at its best, the handsome flowers 

 sometimes proudly waving their heads on slender 

 stems a foot long. 



The flowers are sometimes a deep purple and again 

 may be a light blue, or even nearly white. The two 

 upper petals are usually darker near the throat; the 

 three lower ones shade to white at the throat, the 

 side ones being beautifully fringed or bearded. The 

 leaves are usually heart-shaped, round-toothed and 

 concave or furled; they are on long stems from the 

 base. 



CANADA VIOLET (Viola canadensis) is the most 

 common of the leafy stemmed blue violets. You will 

 notice that the preceding species all had their leaves 

 from the base, and the flowers nodding on slender 

 scapes, while this one has leaves growing on the slen- 

 der stem and flowers above them on peduncles, 

 springing from the angles of the leaves. The leaves 

 are heart-shaped, pointed and serrate. The flowers 

 are pale violet or even white, the lower, spurred petals 

 having yellowish bases, streaked with purple veins; 

 the side petals streaked with purple and bearded. 

 This species is quite common in woods throughout 

 the United States. 



Violets are among our most popular flowers. Varie- 

 ties obtained from our wild ones are cultivated in 

 enormous quantities for adornment and for perfume. 

 The violet is the state flower of Rhode Island, and 

 has been adopted as their representative flower by 

 several colleges. 



