A NEW MIDLAND VIOLET 87 



vSac or spur short, rounded, marked on the outside with minute 

 purple dots. 



Apetalous summer flowers subterranean but in their wet 

 native habitat rise to the surface where an abundance of seeds 

 is formed in the capsules. The petaliferous flowers also produce 

 abundant seed. Sepals 5 equal or subequal acute at apex and 

 slightly involute in aestivation (Fig. 2a.) completely closed and 

 appressed to the pistil. Style short permanently hooked or re- 

 curved between the anthers and appendages of the two equal 

 stamens. Anther sacs obovoid 2 to 4 in the latter case the two 

 inner smaller, opening by a subapical cleft. At times a third per- 

 fectly sterile stamen about one half as large as normal is found 

 between the two usual ones and several tubercles at the base of 

 the ovary mark the other abortive stemens. No trace of petals. 



First leaves dark green, thickish, reniform, later rounded 

 cordate, apex rounded or obtuse, or minutely retuse, margin 

 crenulate as the lobes below and crenulate serrate above, about 

 2.2 cm. wide 2.5 cm. long. 



Summer leaves with a more elongated apex often about 6.8 

 cm. wide and 7.5 cm. long, glabrous or when grown in 

 dry soil with very few minute short hairs at the apex on the 

 upper face or the veins. Habitat wet sandy places near the 

 grassy and sedgy shore of lakes. 



This beautiful little plant was first found by me east of Benton 

 Harbor, Mich, in spring of 1909 along the shore of the river flood- 

 pond. Owing to the markedly white flowers and appearance of the 

 broad corolla, several plants were taken and planted in a bed 

 near the University Dept. of Botany, together with a number of 

 other violets. The plants became notable by their remarkable 

 tendency to spread. In the second season numerous seedlings over 

 the whole large bed came to maturity and in spite of digging 

 and cultivation a considerable number have this spring been 

 segregated more carefully to a plot by themselves. This spring 

 another visit to Benton Harbor showed that the plant was spread- 

 ing there also, though considerably checked by encroachment 

 of cultivated land. Several clumps were taken home for study 

 of fresh material, and transferred to a special plot in order to 

 follow up the subsequent development of latter summer phases, 

 and to study the apetalous flowers more carefully. Though the 

 flowers are perfectly white they are so very large that one could 



