Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson CXXIII · Topic 19: Spring wildflowers of the woods
123. The violet
Goal: Your child finds the nectar spur and guide-lines on a violet, finds the hidden flowers that never open, and starts a violet portfolio of drawings.
You'll need
- Nature notebook, pencil and colored pencils
- A hand lens (magnifying glass)
- Watercolors or colored pencils
- Paper for a portfolio, and a folder
What's in the book
A Teacher's Story about violets, with a photograph of the long-spurred violet, and the lesson: Leading thought, a Method that describes a violet portfolio, and twelve questions.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Violets bloom from April into June in lawns, meadows, woods and by streams. Common blue lawn violets are fine to pick a few of; leave rarer kinds in the woods.
The leading thought
Each violet flower has a well of nectar, with lines pointing to it so that the insects may find it. They also have down near their roots, flowers which never open, which are self-pollenated and develop seeds.
Where and what kind
Describe the locality and general nature of the soil where the violet was found. That is, was it in the woods, dry fields or near a stream?
Look at the leaves: heart-shaped? smooth or downy?
The flower's road map
How many petals has the violet? How are they arranged? Is the lower petal shaped like the others? What is the use of this broad lower petal? Are there any marks upon it? If you should follow one of these lines, where would it lead to?
Look at the spur at the back of the flower. Of which petal is it a part?
Have your child trace a guide-line with a fingertip from the lip of the petal to the opening.
The secret flowers
Look at the base of the violet and find the little flowers there which never open.
Part the leaves of a lawn violet near the ground in late spring or summer. The closed flowers look like small green buds on short stems.
Seeds
Find the seed-pods of the violet. How are the seeds arranged within them? How do the pods open? How are the seeds scattered?
Ripe pods split into three little boats and shoot the seeds out.
Start the portfolio
Comstock prefers drawings to pressed flowers, because drawing makes children notice more. Start the first page:
each blossom should be neatly labelled with name, locality and date.
Draw the leaf, the flower, its stem and the root, then add a note and a short poem or quotation.
Afterwards
Add a page for each different violet you find this spring (blue, white, yellow, the long-spurred kind). Decorate the cover with a design made from violet leaves and flowers, as Comstock suggests.
Tip
If you can, compare a violet with a garden pansy (Lesson CLIII); the pansy is a violet too.