The discussion was opened by Dr. X. L. Britton who spoke 

 of the recent specific differentiations by various authors. He was 

 of the opinion that many of these were doubtful and that while 

 we had perhaps twice as many <^ood species as were rccoj^nized 

 in Gray's time, we have only about half as many species as have 

 been proposed. The speaker then gave a general sketch of the 

 group, n()tin<4- tiiat while preeminently north temperate' they ex- 

 tend into the southern hemisphere along the highlands in both 

 the Orient and the Occident. There is only a single endemic 

 and one introduced species known from the West Indies. Mexico 

 furnishes perhaps half a dozen species, and there are numerous 

 species in the highlands of South America. Our violets fall 

 naturally into two habit groups, the acaulescent and the stemmed. 

 A rather common character is the occurrence of cleistogamic 

 flowers, which are borne on horizontal or erect scapes according 

 to the species. The speaker passed the various species in re- 

 view, paying particular attention to those of eastern North 

 America. 



Stewardson Brown, of the Philadelphia Botanical Club, was 

 called upon to review Dr. Britton's remarks. He said that in 

 the main he agreed with Dr. Britton's views of specific validity. 

 He called attention to a form from the vicinity of Philadelphia 

 which Stone recently identified as Viola scptcinloba LeConte, of 

 the paluiata group, and which the speaker believed to be some- 

 thing different. Attention was directed also to Viola obliqiia, one 

 of the earliest and most abundant violets in the Philadelphia 

 region. The speaker described the sagittata-fiuibriatitla group 

 as one of the most intergraded and least understood of any of the 

 groups of acaulescent blue violets. 



Continuing the discussion, W. W. I'.ggleston mentioned the 

 occurrence of what he believed to be a hybrid form. He also 

 called attention to President Brainerd's methods of studying 

 violets under cultivation and observing their fruit characters. 



L. H. Lighthipe discussed Viola AngcUac, holding it to be 

 distinct from Viola palinata, the differences showing in the char- 

 acter of the flowers and of the summer leaves. Miss Angell, 

 w'ho was present, told of her studies of this species and called 



