Heart’s-Ease
Viola Ocellata, Torr. And Gray. Violet Family
Stems.—Nearly erect; six to twelve inches high. Leaves.—Cordate; acutish; conspicuously crenate. Petals.—Five to seven lines long; the upper white within, deep brown-purple without; the others white or yellowish, veined with purple; the lateral with a purple spot near the base and slightly bearded on the claw. (Flower structure as in V. pedunculata.) Hab.—Wooded districts from Monterey to Mendocino County.
This dainty little heart’s-ease has nothing of the gay, joyous, self-assertive look of our yellow pansy, but rather the shy, timid mien belonging to all the creatures of the woodland. It ventures its pretty blossoms in late spring and early summer.