VIOLACE^. 19 



Sub-Species I.— Viola Riviniana. Bekh. 



Plate CLXXIII. 



Eeick Ic. Fl. Germ, et Ilelv. Vol. III. Viol. Tab. XII. Fig. 4502. 



A. G. More, in Report of Thirsk Nat. Hist. Soc. Bot. Ex. Club, 18G1, p. 7. 



Boreau, Fl. du Ceuti-e de la Fr. ed. iii. Vol. II. p. 78. Brebmon, Fl. de la Normandie, 



p. 38. Lloyd, Fl. de I'Ouest de la Fr. p. dd. 

 V. sylvatica ji, Riviniana, Bah. BlaD. Brit. Bot. ed. v. p. 38. 

 V. canina, "Linn." Sm. Eng. Bot. No. 620. 



Lower leaves as broad as (or broader tban) long ; upper leaves 

 a little narrower than long. Petals pale bluish purple, oval-oblong ; 

 the lowest one broadly oval, with numerous branched dark veins at 

 the base ; spur (usually yellowish white) broad, oblong, laterally 

 compressed, furrowed, and slightly notched at the apex. Capsule 

 with the appendages of the sepals prominent ; those of the lateral 

 pair longer than broad ; those of the lower pair broader, and with 

 2 or 3 small notches at the apex. 



In woods, hedges, and dry waste places. Very common through- 

 out the whole kingdom, though in a few districts V. E-eichenbachiana 

 seems to be the more common form. 



England, Scotland, Ireland. Perennial. Late Spring and 

 (apetalous flowers) Summer. 



Branches of the rootstock emitting a few root-fibres, but scarcely 

 deserving to be called creeping ; the extremities scarred and clothed 

 Avith the decayed bases of the leaf-stalks. Primary stem with the 

 iiiternodes short, so that it often almost resembles a tuft of radical 

 leaves, with a terminal leaf-bud ; lateral stems from 2 inches to 1 foot 

 long, decumbent and ascending, with developed internodes. Leaves 

 of tiie barren primary stem on very long stalks, the lamina seldom 

 longer than broad, the base with a large deep open sinus ; leaves 

 of the lateral stems on shorter stalks, especially the upper ones, 

 which become narrower, more acuminate at the apex, and less 

 deeply cordate at the base in proportion as they are placed higher 

 on the stem. Peduncles long, straight nearly to the top, where 

 there are a pair of small nearly opposite bracts, and then curved 

 to the apex, so that the flowers are nodding. Flowers scentless, 

 f to 1 inch across, bluish purple or lilac, the lower petal paler at 

 the base, with numerous dark veins which are distinctly branched. 

 Upper sepal with a very short broad appendage ; the lateral ones 

 with a narrower and more rounded one ; the lowest pair with the 

 largest and broadest appendages, which are faintly toothed at the 

 tip. Petals obovatc-oblong, the lowest petal much broader than 

 the others ; spur much compressed, with the upper and midcr 

 sides parallel, and generally a slight notch at the extreme apex. 



