I live in Lafayette, CA (94549). I am curious about my outdoor purple Violets (Viola adunca) that are planted as ground cover. I think it is the adunca variety  not absolutely sure  they were probably originally grown on my motherÂs property in the Sacramento Valley.

At the base of the plant just above where the root would begin, there are some tightly curled leaves (2 sides curled inward). If you pry open this very tightly curled leaf, one finds a precise line of little white rectangles. If you take one and smear it on white paper it has a slight colored tinge (light ochre yellow/orange). We have read that Red Spider Mites sometimes like ViolaÂs, although this doesnÂt look like other problematic insects weÂve seen before. We did read that ViolaÂs do have 2 types of flowers, and we are wondering if, by chance, this is the other type.

I have noticed this odd leaf formation for at least a few years now  last year I picked off all these curled leafs, but this year they came back. It could be jut the way the pant grows, but I spend a huge amount of time in my garden and donÂt remember seeing this "odd" formation. FYI ... my white Violet ground cover that is exhibiting the same behavior.

Thanks for any input you may have.