Violets

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For the musical instrument Viole see Viola.

Violets or violets (viola) are a plant genus within the family of violets (Violaceae). Of the 400 to 650 species, most thrive in temperate areas of the earth. The centres of biodiversity are in North America, the Andes and Japan. However, they are also found in Australia and Tasmania. Well-known species are pansies, horn violets and perfume violets.

Description

Appearance and leaves
Violet species grow as one- or two-year-old or mostly enduring herbaceous plants, as well as rarely half-bushes with very different habitus. Often rhizomes are formed as survival organs. More or less long, creeping to upright, above-ground shoot axes can be formed or absent.

The foliage leaves can all stand together in principle or can be arranged in an alternatingly distributed manner on the shoot axis. The foliage leaves are divided into leaf stem and leaf spread. Very few species have heterophylly. The leaf spreads are simple or divided. The blade edge is smooth or toothed. The permanent, small to large, sometimes deciduous leaves are freely or more or less long grown with the leaf stems. In some viola species, the foliage leaves are +/- dense, usually hairy at the bottom and lashing at the edge and base. The indument consists of simple, single-celled or single-celled trichomes, which are thickened towards the end in some species. The secondary leaves are often wimped or fringed and then often wear brown glands at their ends.

Flowers
The flowers stand individually in the leaf armpits on flower stalks that have two cover leaves.

The twisty flowers are zygomorphic and five-fold with a double flower shell. The almost same five free or almost free chalice leaves usually have herbaceous eyes (appendages) at their base. The five free crown leaves are clearly unequal. In some species, the two lateral crown leaves on the top are bearded. The lowest crown leaf is the largest and spurred at its base. There is a circle with five stamens. The free dust filaments are relatively short. The upright dust bags are free or usually form an envelope around the fruit knot. The two lower dust bags project into the spur and have spur-like or wart-like, nectar-secreting appendages at their base. Three fruit leaves have grown into an upper, single-chamber fruit knot. Each fruit knot contains many anatropic seed plants in parietal placentation. The almost upright or usually more or less downward curved stylus. The stylus is more or less thickened or sometimes gradually narrowed upwards and is smooth or has different appendages. The scar is shaped differently depending on the species.

Fruit and seeds
Open the Loculicidal Capsule Fruits