Ubiquitous in lawns, and there are some unaccountably dour types who try to eradicate it. Violets cause no harm; they never grow too high and are easily mowed, and they give us flowers like these, which were blooming on Easter Sunday in the middle of April in a lawn in Mount Lebanon. If you think nothing but identical blades of grass should make up a lawn, then you miss half the poetry of having a plot of land in the first place.
Gray, with assistance from Brainerd, describes the
genus and the species:
VIOLA [Tourn.] L. VIOLET, HEART’S-EASE. [Revised by E.
Brainerd.] Petals somewhat unequal, the lower one
spurred at the base. Stamens closely surrounding the
ovary, often slightly cohering with each other; the
two lower bearing spurs which project into the spur of
the corolla. Besides these conspicuous blossoms, which
appear in spring, others are produced later, on
shorter peduncles or on runners, often concealed under
the leaves; these never open nor develop petals, but
are fertilized in the bud and are far more fruitful
than the ordinary blossoms. — The closely allied
species of the same section, when growing together,
often hybridize with each other, producing forms that
are confusing to the student not familiar with the
specific types. The hybrids commonly display
characters more or less intermediate between those of
the parents, and show marked vegetative vigor but
greatly impaired fertility. (The ancient Latin name of
the genus.)
Plants stemless, the leaves and scapes directly from a
rootstock or from runners.
Style dilated upward in a vertical plane, capitate,
with a conical beak on the lower side; stigma within
the tip of the beak.
Rootstock fleshy and thickened, without runners;
petals violet-blue to purple, the lateral bearded
(Blue Violets).
Leaves heart-shaped, the margins merely
eremite-serrate.
Plants more or less pubescent.
Leaves all undivided.
Spurred petal glabrous or bearing only scattered
hairs; capsules 8—12 mm. long.
V. sororia. In size and habit like no. 7 (V.
papillonacea), into which it passes; leaves
villous-pubescent especially on the petioles and under
surface when young; vernal flowers on peduncles about
the length of the leaves, violet to lavender and
occasionally white; outer sepals ovate-oblong,
commonly obtuse, ciliolate below the middle and on the
short rounded auricles; cleistogamous flowers ovoid,
on short prostrate peduncles; capsules of these
usually purple; seeds dark brown. (V. palmata, var.
Pollard.) — Moist meadows, alluvial woods, shady
hedges and dooryards, w. Que. to Minn., and southw.
