NATIVE WILD FLOWERS 
covered with soft hairs, have a bright, smooth and shining 
appearance. They are round heart or kidney-shaped, 
notched at the edges. As the summer advances the foliage 
of the Pencilled Violet increases in luxuriance, and many 
white fibrous running roots are produced in the loose soil. 
This attractive species may be found in swamps and forests, 
growing amidst decayed wood and mosses, and increasing 
after the same manner as Viola blanda. A point which 
easily distinguishes this species from the last is the total 
absence of scent; the leaves, too, are much more pubescent 
—a character which is very noticeable in the early morning, 
when they are covered with dew. 
Among the branching Violets we have two pretty lilac 
ones, the Long Spurred Violet (Viola rostrata) and the 
Dog Violet (Viola canina var. sylvestris). These pretty 
species are distinguished by the long spur, lilac-tinted 
petals, striped and veined with dark purple and branching 
stem. The next in point of interest is the 
Downy YELLOW VIOLET—Viola pubescens (Ait,). 
This handsome species is confined to our forests and 
copses. It will attain to more than a foot in height in its 
rich native woods; it blossoms in spring, and quite often 
through the early summer; the color is golden yellow, 
veined with black jetty lines. The seed-vessels are deeply 
clothed with white silky wool. 
The Yellow Violet has been immortalized by the sweet 
verses of that rare poet of nature, Cullen Byrant—almost 
every child is familiar with his stanzas on the Yellow 
Violet. There is another variety of this Violet, called var. 
scabriuscula, which is not so branching; it is of lower 
growth, the leaves darker, and the blossoms smaller but 
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