BLUE AND PURPLE GROUP 



whorls of 4, long, narrow, a few scattered. Heads of flowers rat her 

 large and showy. July to September. 



Sandy swamps, from Maine to Florida and westward. 

 Sometimes in drier soil. When growing together they have 

 a moss-like appearance. (See illustration, p. 320.) 



P. brevifblia.. — Color, rose purple. A species resembling the 

 last, but smaller, lower, more slender. Leaves, also in whorls of 

 fours, and often scattered. 



Time of blossoming and range nearly the same as P. 

 cruciata. 



Bird-foot Violet 



Viola pedkta. (the common and specific names are taken from 

 the resemblance of the leaves to a bird's claws). — Family, Violet. 

 Color, the 2 upper petals dark purple, the 3 others pale to violet 

 blue. The stamens make a central, yellow eye. Sepals, 5, eared. 

 Petals, 5, one of them spurred. Stamens, 2, with appendages 

 which penetrate the spur cavity. Flower, 1 inch across. Leaves, 

 much cut into 3 main divisions, linear, the side segments all cleft 

 and toothed. One of the "stemless violets," its flower -scapes 

 and leaves springing from a short, erect rootstock. Scapes 3 to 10 

 inches high, about the length of the petioles. April to June. 



Dry soil, fields and hillsides, in open places, often abun- 

 dant, from Maine to Minnesota, southward to Florida. 



One of the largest and prettiest of the wild violets. The 

 finely cut foliage, a variation from the prevailing violet type 

 of entire and heart-shaped leaf, adds much to its beauty. 



I recall always with satisfaction a sterile knoll in Connecti- 

 cut, which, when a child, it was one of the pleasures of each 

 recurring spring to visit. There I could gather the bird- 

 foot violet by the handful, yet make no impression upon the 

 spacious bed of bloom; and since I have seen adult classes 

 in botany rush in a body to inspect and secure a few sparsely 

 scattered specimens of this flower, I think my childish enthu- 

 siasm was justifiable. 



Cleistogamous, self-pollinating blossoms, without colored 

 petals, may be found near the roots in midsummer. 



Arrow-leaved Violet 



V. sagittkta, deep blue or purplish, with entire, arrow-shaped, 

 petioled leaves, sometimes toothed and variously cut near the base, 

 is one of our common species. The spur is short and thick; petals, 



321 



