Jenny, Re Viola sororia/papilionacea: see link below. Re V. sororia/cucullata: cucullata should stick to wetter sites whereas sororia can occur in wet or much drier spots. But that and issues of hairiness are all weak discriminators bewteen several species and infraspecific taxa, partly because they vary geographically, but hairiness also varies within a single plant during a season. Later in the year, features of the cleistogamous seed pods and sepals distinguish these species, but it is not so easy when they are in flower - or at least it is not so easy to describe. The one factor worth considering, though again it is a little imprecise, is how far above the leaves the flowers are held: V. cucullata holds them more or less at the same level as the top of the foliage, but V. sororia holds them above the foliage. Thanks for your good description of the associated flora; in this case it does not exactly answer your question, but the forest aspect suggests V. sororia more than V. cucullata. Must have been a great sight, Mike Here is a link that might be useful: Prior discussion on Viola sororia/papilionacea

I have the Gagg KG291. I think its appearance borders on art. To my mind, no other cooktop comes close in the appearance department. The bead-blasted finish on all surfaces is simply beautiful. Every burner has at least two rings of flame, the big center 17,000 BTU burner has three rings of flame. All of the burners provide very even heat across the entire bottom of a pan. You won't end up with a cooler spot in the middle of the pan Cleaning is a breeze. On a daily basis I can simply use a damp sponge and a spray cleaner like Formula 409 or Windex. All it takes is a swipe around the round burner elements. There are no nooks or crannies for grime to collect. A more thorough cleaning on a weekly basis, when I remove the brass burner elements, is also straight-forward and simple. I don't think I'd like trying to clean around the star-shaped burners on the Thermador.

Sippy_south, you may want to start a new thread with that question so everyone sees it. Otherwise only people reading this countertop thread can see it. As for the various brands of quartz - I don't know that there's really any difference, other than the various colors available and what each manufacturer considers a quality or warranty issue. One person on this forum had problems with Cambria - there was major "resin pooling" on her countertop (do a search for that term), and Cambria wouldn't replace it. I bought Zodiaq because I liked one of its colors the best.

Through my 1st year with my Viking series five six burner cooktop. Truly a learning curve on this beast. Did lots of research for induction cookware. Have a mixed bag. Ten piece original profi set plus a steamer basket from fissler. Love this stuff. Hear complaints that its to heavy. But that's the point for induction cooktops. When units cycles on and off less heat loss. Also have Demeyere large saucier pan. One of my go go on daily basis. Non stick skillets are All Clad 8 and 10", same deal heavy bottoms and sides. And yes all the above does get hot on the sides. An 11" fissler nonstick I like better the the AC as I am not a fan of rivets along with others. Dialing in non sticking the fissler ss skillets and a deep Debuyer carbon steel pan. Great as a small wok. Have my share of cast iron too. An old top and bottom Griswold chicken fryer. It fries, broils, bakes and was born for induction. This thing cooks! A 3 and 5.5 qt Staub dutch oven and Staub all day pan. All get lots of work. La Creuset 12" griddle and a Lodge round griddle round out the iron. Not a daily driver but when the urge for lots of pancakes or grilled cheese and such food I recently bought a Sur La Table La Marque 84 flat oven pan. Covers two burners and yes real heavy works great on my induction. Found all cookware on sale, some at yard sales and even traded some non induction for stuff that works for me. If my opinion matters I really like everything I'm using. Not brand loyal as I do find heavy bottom and sides work better for induction, SS steel or non stick. Heavy metal lids over glass. Don't see the point of glass since it just steams up. No rivets is my preference. The Fissler set looks really cool and up to this point after a year of daily cooking it is the best stuff out there. Pick what you want, be sure it will get used. If it just takes up space, why? i