_Violet Family_
Herbs in our species with basal or alternate simple leaves and solitary
or clustered perfect irregular flowers; sepals 5, petals 5, the lower
one larger or with a posterior spur.
[Sidenote: =Viola cognata= Greene. _Early Blue Violet._]
Acaulescent; rootstock short and thick. Leaves long-petioled, smooth or
more or less hairy, slightly fleshy, cordate with a broad sinus, acute
or acuminate, crenately toothed. Flowers large, blue or violet, scapes
2—10 inches long, equalling or surpassing the leaves; petals narrow,
½—¾ of an inch long, all villous at the base, the 3 lower strongly so.
In moist shaded ground, on stream banks and in marshes, frequent
throughout the Rockies; flowering in May and early June.
[Sidenote: =Viola palustris= L. _Marsh Violet._]
Acaulescent, smooth, petioles and scapes arising from a very slender,
creeping or horizontal rootstock, the scapes mostly exceeding the
leaves. Leaves thin, cordate, broadly ovate, orbicular or reniform,
1—2½ inches wide, crenulate. Flowers pale lilac or nearly white with
darker veins; petals broad, ⅓—½ an inch long, spur short.
In marshy places among moss in the Selkirks near Glacier; flowering in
June; not a common species in the region.
[Sidenote: =Viola sempervirens= Greene. _Low Yellow Violet._]
Sparingly hairy, stems weak and decumbent, multiplying by long slender
rootstocks. Leaves mostly basal, rounded, cordate, reniform or
sometimes ovate ½—1½ inches broad, finely crenate; peduncles mostly
exceeding the leaves. Flowers yellow; petals oblong, ⅓ of an inch or
more long, sparingly veined with brown toward the base; spur short and
sac-like.
In open woods throughout the region at elevations ranging from 5000
to 7000 feet, blossoming very early in May or June shortly after the
melting of the snow.
[Sidenote: =Viola glabella= Nutt. _Tall Yellow Violet._]
Minutely hairy or smooth, stems fleshy from a short fleshy horizontal
rhizome, naked or sparingly leafy below, 5—12 inches high. Basal leaves
on long petioles, the upper short-petioled reniform-cordate to cordate,
acute, crenate-toothed, 1—4 inches broad. Flowers bright yellow on
peduncles mainly shorter than the leaves; petals broadly oblong, ⅓—½ an
inch or more long, the lateral and lower with brown lines at the base.
A striking plant on shaded banks and borders of streams and rills at
the higher altitudes, very abundant in the Selkirks; flowering in June.
[Sidenote: =Viola canadensis= L. _Canada Violet._]
Smooth or nearly so; stems 3—14 inches high, tufted, leafy throughout.
Leaves broadly ovate or nearly orbicular, cordate, acuminate or acute,
1—2½ inches long, serrate, the veins on the lower surface often hairy.
Flowers on peduncles mainly shorter than the leaves, pale violet or
nearly white, veined with purple, and often tinged with purple on the
outside, ½—¾ of an inch broad; petals nearly in the same plane.
In rich moist woods throughout the Rockies and occasionally in the open
alpine meadows, continuing in flower from June until September.
[Sidenote: =Viola adunca longipes= (Nutt.) Rydb. _Dog Violet._]
Slightly hairy or nearly smooth, branching from the base, usually 3—11
inches high, at length sending out runners that bear cleistogamic
flowers. Leaves ovate, more or less cordate at the base, ½—1½ inches
long, obscurely crenate. Flowers on peduncles usually longer than the
leaves, violet-purple to white; petals ½ an inch or more long; spur ¼
of an inch long, rather slender and curved.
A low-stemmed violet usually with brilliant blue flowers, growing in
dry, sandy, shaded or open ground at varying elevations throughout the
Rockies: flowering in June and July.
[Illustration: Elæagnus argentea Pursh. (⅔ Nat.) Silver-Berry.]
[Illustration: Lepargyræa canadensis (L.) Greene. (½ Nat.)
Buffalo-Berry.]