100 BRITISH FLOWERINa PLANTS chap. 



no stem, and the leaves are radical, i.e. apparently 

 rising from the root, the stem being very short. Now, 

 under these circumstances, if the Sweet Violet attempted 

 to shoot its seeds, the capsules not being sufficiently 

 elevated, the seeds would merely strike against some 

 neighbouring leaf, and immediately fall to the ground. 

 Hence, I think, we see that the arrangement of the 



y --, 



Fig. 62. — Viola hirta. a, flower-bud ; d, full-sized capsule. 



capsule in each species is that most suitable to the 

 general habit of the plant. 



The species is somewhat variable. Mr. Britton' found 

 that " among 1000 flowers gathered indiscriminately by 

 the sides of, and adjacent to, the ancient highway known 

 as Ermyn Street, between Epsom Downs and Leather- 

 head Downs, 305, or more than 30 per cent, were 

 abnormal. The variations ranged from slight diver- 



' Journal of Botany, 1904, p. 141. 



