STUDIES OF PLANT LIFE 



at least till late in the season. It is found on open sunny 

 banks and dry grassy hill-sides, f Yet another variet}^ is often 

 found by the sides of springs and rivers, forming spreading 

 tufts among the grass with its smooth-pointed leaves and 

 pale, delicate flowers.f 



The prettiest of all our blue Violets is the 



ARROW-LEAVED VIOLET Viola sagittata (Ait.). 



It is found in low, sandy, shady valleys or very light 

 loamy soil. The leaves of this species are not always arrow 

 or heart-shaped, but in some cases are long and narrow, 

 blunt at the apex, decurrent on the short leaf-stalk, notched 

 at the edges, and rather roughened and dulled in color by 

 the short silvery hairs on the surface. The flowers rise 

 singly from the crown of the plant; color, a bright royal 

 blue, a little white at the base of the petals, which are 

 bearded with soft silky wool; anthers, a bright orange 

 color, and forming a tiny cone from the meeting of the 

 tips. The flowers, six or eight in number, fall back from 

 the centre and lie prostrate on the closely horizontal leaves. 

 The unopened buds are sharply folded with bright green 

 sepals, and are of a deep bluish-purple. Another form, 

 sometimes called Viola ovata, very nearly resembles the 

 above, but the leaves are less hairy and the color is more 

 purple in the tint. 



THE PENCILLED VIOLET Viola renifolia (Gray) 



bears its white blossoms on rather long slender foot-stalks, 

 and these are slightly larger than those of the above. It is 

 milky-white, with dark veinings. The leaves, although 



f Viola, subviscosa, Greene. 

 %Viola prionosepala, Greene. 



