VIOLET FAMILY. Violaceae. 



VIOLET FAMILY. Violaceae. 



A rather large family, widely distributed, but we have 

 only three genera, the principal one being Viola, which is 

 the ancient Latin name, used by Virgil. 



There are many kinds of Viola, widely distributed* 

 blooming in spring, but often flowering again in the 

 autumn; low, perennial herbs, with stipules; leaves alter- 

 nate, or from the root; flowers complete, irregular, nodding, 

 nectar-yielding, usually single; sepals five, with small ear- 

 shaped projections at the base ; petals five, slightly bearded 

 within, so as to afford a foothold for bees, the lowest petal 

 larger and with a spur at the back; stamens five, short, 

 with broadened filaments and anthers opening inward, so 

 as to cover the pistil all but the end of the style, the t\Vo 

 lower anthers with spurs at the base, which project into the 

 spur of the petal; ovary superior and one-celled; style club- 

 shaped, with a one-sided stigma. The flowers are often 

 of two kinds, the earlier ones with long flower-stalks, with 

 petals and showy, but not producing seed; the later ones 

 with short stalks, with small or no petals, but fertile, often 

 cleistogamous, that is, fertilized in the bud. The capsule 

 splits open and as the three valves dry they fold firmly 

 together lengthwise and force out the seeds. 



A pretty plant, growing in the woods, 

 Viola lobata with leafy stems, from four to fourteen 



Yellow inches high, with leafy stipules and smooth, 



Spring, summer rather light green leaves, deeply lobed, 

 Cal., Oreg. SQ that they look unlike most violet 



leaves. The flowers are more or less clustered, an inch 

 or more across, with bright yellow petals, veined with 

 purple inside, tinged with purplish-brown outside, the 

 two side petals with a little hairy patch at the base inside. 



A shy little woodland plant, from fiv 

 Western Hearts- 

 ease to twelve inches tall, with creeping root 



Viola ocellata stocks and small, dry stipules. Th< 

 White and yellow flowers are an inch or less across, the tw( 



UppeF PGtalS Whit6 ' tinged With reddish 

 purple on the outside, and the other petal 



white or yellow, with a splash of purple on each of the tw( 

 side petals and the lower one veined with purple. Thi 

 grows in shady woods. 



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