THE VIOLET FAMILY. 349 



terised by its ovate, or ovate-lanceolate crenate leaves, deeply cordate at the 

 base, where also they are often coarsely toothed. Its flowers growing^ on 

 scapes arise usually higher than the leaves, are rather small and bloom 

 early in April. 



V. vicindlis, a showy member of the genus and found in the pine. barrens 

 of northern Florida and southern Alabama, also belongs to the group of stem- 

 less violets. In early youth its flowers are raised to a considerable height 

 above the leaves, but later in the season these latter attain to larger si/e and 

 are not exceeded by the peduncles. The blades in outline are very distinc- 

 tive, being deeply and irregularly divided into from three to five lobes of 

 which the central one is the largest. The deep purple and large blossoms 

 have their lateral petals bearded with white and lustrous hairs. This dis- 

 tinct violet supplants V. palmata in Florida, and slightly resembles that 

 species. 



l/C^^ BIRD'S=FOOT VIOLET. 



■^ Viola pedata. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Violet, Deep purple. Fahitly fragrant. Florida to Xortk Car- Mity. 



olina northward. 



Acatilescent flcnvers : large ; nodding at the end of bracted scapes. Cilyx: 

 with five poiiited sepals eared at their bases. Corolla : of five unequal petals, 

 being beardless and one extending into a spur. Stafncns : connivent about the 

 style. Pistil: one; style, club-shaped. Z<'(?7rj- : from the base witlilong petioles; 

 pedately divided into five to nine linear-lanceolate or spatulate lobes, entire or 

 toothed. 



Perhaps there is no violet which presents more varieties of form than this 

 one known as the bird's-foot from the outline of its leaves. Sometimes its 

 petals are all one colour, pale blue, or blue tinted with pink, and again the 

 two uppermost ones are a rich and velvety purple. In this latter event the 

 plant is usually known as the variety /5/<:i?^r, although Dr. Britton considers 

 this form the type of the species. At Highlands. North Carolina. I saw a 

 large patch of this species of violet wherein so many unusual forms were 

 gathered that they fairly upset all preconceived notions concerning them and 

 made one long to be a violet specialist. 



On Satula Mountain also as late as the first week in September I gathered 

 several of these blossoms, as large and fresh as they could ever have 

 been in the early season. In Japan they would no doubt have been called 

 " returning flowers " and given to those starting on a journey to typify a 

 safe return. It is not the custom of this species to bear cleistogamous 

 flowers, nor is it stoloniferous. 



V, rotwidifolia, round-leaved violet, sometimes begins to bloom as early 



