258 



VINCA VIOLA. 



plant with large and handsome flowers ; 

 1 to 2 ft. high, or more. Flowers, in 

 spring and early summer, and some- 

 times a second time in autumn ; blue, 

 large, borne singly on axillary stalks ; 

 tube of corolla nearly bell - shaped, 

 slightly contracted at the mouth ; 

 lobes broad ; calyx deeply divided 

 into 5 narrow segments, ciliated on 

 the edges. Leaves, broadly - ovate, 

 shining, ciliated, opposite ; barren 

 stems trailing, flowering ones erect, 

 simple. There are several varieties. 

 Europe, common in Britain. Natu- 

 ralization in almost any position ; fully 

 exposed tufts look well when in 

 flower in early summer, on the fringes 

 of shrubberies. The variegated kinds 

 are well fitted for edgings and vases 

 etc., and, like the common form, may 

 be naturalized. Division. 



Vinca minor (Lesser Periwinkle). 

 Another well-known kind, smaller in 

 every part than the previous one, and 

 usually with a more trailing habit ; 

 the flowering shoots short and erect. 

 Flowers, in spring and nearly all the 

 summer ; blue, small ; tube of corolla 

 more open than in V. major ; calyx 

 quite smooth, with shorter and broader 

 segments. Leaves, narrowly ovate, 

 quite smooth. This, like the preced- 

 ing, varies much in the colour of the 

 flowers, and there are also variegated 

 and double varieties. Europe, and 

 Britain, but probably not truly indi- 

 genous. Similar positions etc., to 



those given for the preceding ; the 

 double and prettily-coloured varieties 

 of this are however worthy of a posi- 

 tion in borders and as edgings to beds 

 of small shrubs, etc., where their pretty 

 blossoms may be seen in spring. 



Viola altaica (Altai Violet). A 

 showy species with the habit of our 

 Pansies. Flowers, from May to July ; 

 yellow, or deep violet with a small 

 eye of bright yellow ; spur very short, 

 Bcarcely longer than the appendages 



of the calyx ; sepals acute, toothed. 

 Leaves, oval ; stipules oblong-lance- 

 shaped, incised. Altai Mountains, 



near China. Borders, or among the 



free-growing plants in the rougher 

 parts of the rock-garden, in sandy 

 loam. Division or cuttings. 



Viola Mflora (Two-flowered Violet}. 

 A singularly pretty little yellow 

 Violet, 3 or 4 in. high. Floicers, in 

 early summer ; yellow, with the lip 

 streaked with, black, small, usually 

 borne in pairs ; petals smooth ; spur 

 very short; sepals linear; stigma 

 bifid. Leaves, kidney-shaped, ser- 

 rated, smooth. Roots creeping. There 

 is a variety bearing only one flower 

 on each stem. Widely distributed 

 throughout Europe, Asia, and Ame- 

 rica. Chinks between stones in the 



steps in moist parts of the rock-gar- 

 den ; in this and like positions it will 

 run about freely and look as pretty as 

 it does between and under the rocks 

 in its native alpine valleys. Division. 



Viola calcarata (Spurred Violet). 

 Closely allied to the now common 

 V. cornuta, but easily known by the 

 stipules and by its habit of increasing 

 by runners under the earth, instead of 

 forming strong leafy tufts above it ; 

 3 to 6 in. high. Flowers, in early 

 summer ; light blue ; sepals oblong, 

 glandularly toothed ; spur awl-shaped, 

 longer than the calyx. Leaves, roundish 

 or spoon-shaped, crenate ; stipules, in 

 the shape of a spatula elongated and 

 widened at the top, entire towards 

 the base and trifurcate at the top, 

 never crenated or widened like the 

 limb of a leaf. There is a yellow- 

 flowered variety, V, c. flava ( V. Zoysii). 



Alps. The rock-garden and borders, 



in sandy loam. Division and seed. 



Viola ca,n&d.en.sis(CanadianViolet). 

 A free-growing kind, 6 in. to nearly 

 2 ft. high. Flowers, in early summer ; 

 whitish inside ; petals slightly twisted, 

 the upper ones often tinged with vio- 



