Violaceæ

Violaceæ, a natural order of exogenous plants, of which from 200 to 300 species are known, natives both of temperate and tropical countries, those belonging to the former being generally herbaceous, and those belonging to the latter generally shrubby. They have simple leaves with persistent stipules. The calyx consists of five persistent sepals, usually elongated at the base; the corolla of five hypogynous petals, unequal in the sub-order Violeæ, and equal in the sub-order Alsoideæ. There are five stamens inserted in a hypogynous disc, the filaments prolonged beyond the anthers. The ovary is one-celled, generally with many ovules, the style single, with an oblique stigma. The fruit is a three-valved capsule, with many seeds. The best-known species are the violets. Emetic and purgative properties prevail in the order, and some of the South American species yield valuable medicines; see IPECACUANHA. Yet the leaves of the Lobolobo (Conohoria or Alsoidea lobolobo) are used in Brazil as spinach.