90 SUB-ALPINE PLANTS 



than the sepals. Valves of the capsules slightly open at maturity 

 and containing 12 seeds. 



Dry screes and limestone rocks. Common. May to July. 



Distribution. — Central and Southern Europe as far north as the 

 Baltic Isles ; Mediterranean region, Western Asia. In Switzerland 

 locally in Tessin, Grisons, the Rhone Valley, and other warm places. 

 On Monte Torraggio in Liguria we have seen this plant at some 

 4000 feet. 



VIOLACE^ 

 A family represented in Europe by a single genus. 



Viola L. 



Leaves radical or alternate, stipulate. Flowers axillary, solitary, 

 or in cymes, with 2 small bracts. Sepals 5, usually unequal, and 

 produced at the base beyond their insertion. CoroUa irregular, of 

 5 spreading petals, the lowest produced into a spur at the base. 

 Style single, with a dilated or thickened or hooked stigma. Capsule 

 i-celled, 3-valved. Seeds attached to 3 parietal placentae. 



There are about 150 species of Viola spread more or less through- 

 out the globe. 



Viola pinnata L. 



Glabrous. Leaves all radical, digitate, multi-partite, with obtuse 

 teeth. Flowers pale violet or blue, rarely white, fragrant. Petals 

 small. Capsule trigonous. 



Stony, rocky places in the Alps from 4500-7000 feet. June, July. 



Distribution. — Eastern, Central, and Western Alps ; very local. 

 Rare in Switzerland and commoner in Tyrol and Carinthia ; Ural 

 Mountains, Siberia. ' 



Viola biflora L. (Plate VII.) 



Rootstock cylindrical, scaly, fleshy, oblique, branched above. 

 Stem erect or ascending, limp, glabrous like the flowers and leaf- 

 stalks. Leaves reniform, crenate, obtuse, or shortly acuminate, 

 finely ciliated, otherwise mostly glabrous, bright green. Stipules 

 ovate-lanceolate, acute, entire. Flowers usually 2 in a leaf-axil. 

 Petals yellow, the odd one streaked with brown at the base. Calyx- 

 teeth acute. Stigma abrupt, hollow, somewhat 2-lobed. Capsule 

 elongated, obtuse, glabrous, pendent. 



Bushy, stony places and damp rocks, and in moist mountain 

 woods ; 4000-gooo feet, though rarely above 8000 feet. June to 

 August. 



Distribution. — Throughout the Alpine Chain ; Carpathians, 

 Scandinavia, Jura, Corsica, Pyrenees: Asia, from the Urals and 

 Caucasus to India ; N. America. 



Easily grown in a deep loam with plenty of leaf-mould, and 



