[+][+] Stems erect, without root-leaves; stipules entire; spur very short; stigma beakless, pubescent.
[++] Stems naked below; flowers yellow.
12. V. pubéscens, Ait. (Downy Yellow V.) Softly pubescent (6–12´ high); leaves very broadly heart-shaped, toothed, somewhat pointed; stipules ovate or ovate-lanceolate, large; lower petals veined with purple, capsule oblong to globular, glabrous or tomentose.—Woods; common.—Var. scabriúscula, Torr. & Gray, smaller and greener, slightly pubescent (4–10´ high).—R. I. to Ky., and southwestward.
13. V. hastàta, Michx. (Halberd-leaved V.) Nearly glabrous, slender (4–10´ high); stem-leaves halberd-shaped or oblong-heart-shaped, slightly serrate, acute; stipules ovate, small.—Woods, N. Ohio (near Painesville, Miss Shattuck), mountains of Penn., and southward; rare.
[++][++] Stems more leafy and prolonged; flowers white or purplish.
14. V. Canadénsis, L. (Canada V.) Upright (1–2° high); leaves heart-shaped, pointed, serrate; stipules ovate-lanceolate, entire; petals white or whitish inside, the upper ones mostly tinged with violet beneath, the lateral bearded.—Rich woods; common northward and along the Alleghanies. May–Aug.
[+][+][+] Stems erect or spreading (at first nearly acaulescent); stipules fringe-toothed; spur oblong to cylindrical; stigma naked.
15. V. striàta, Ait. (Pale V.) Stems angular, ascending (6–10´ high); leaves heart-shaped, finely serrate, often acute; stipules oblong-lanceolate, large; spur thickish, much shorter than the cream-colored or white petals, the lateral ones bearded, the lower striped with purplish lines; stigma beaked.—Low grounds, W. New Eng. to Minn. and Mo., and southward in the mountains. April–Oct.
16. V. rostràta, Pursh. (Long-spurred V.) Stems ascending (3–6´ high); leaves roundish-heart-shaped, serrate, the upper acute; stipules lanceolate, large; spur slender (½´ long), longer than the pale violet beardless petals; style straight and slender; stigma terminal, beakless.—Shaded hillsides, N. New Eng. to Mich., and southward in the Alleghanies; rather rare. June, July.
17. V. canìna, L., var. Muhlenbérgii, Gray. (Dog V.) Low (3–8´ high), mostly glabrous; stems ascending, mostly simple, from the base at length producing creeping branches; leaves heart-shaped, or the lowest kidney-form, crenate, the uppermost slightly pointed; stipules lanceolate; spur cylindrical, half the length of the light violet petals, the lateral ones slightly bearded; stigma beaked.—Damp or wet shady places; common. May–July. (Eu.)—Var. pubérula, Watson in herb. Finely puberulent; leaves mostly ovate and acutish with a cordate base, often small; flowers small and mostly cleistogamous.—Sandy or stony shores and islands of Lakes Huron and Superior. (Robbins, Engelmann, etc.)—Var. multicaùlis, Gray. Depressed and stoloniferous; flowers mostly cleistogamous; leaves small, suborbicular to reniform.—Ky. to Fla. and Tex.