Burke: Viola arvensis vs. Viola sheltonii

	Viola arvensis	Viola sheltonii
	European field pansy	fan violet, Shelton's violet
Habit	Puberulent, freely-branched annual, 1-3 dm. tall.	Glabrous perennial from deep-seated rhizomes, the flowering stems 5-15 cm. tall.
Leaves	Leaf blades ovate to lanceolate, coarsely round-toothed, 1-3 cm. long, about equaling the petioles; stipules very large, laciniate into 5-9 segments, usually with one leaf-like segment nearly as large as the main blade.	Leaf blades glaucous and somewhat purplish on the lower surface, 2-5 cm. long and broad, deeply cleft into 3 main lobes and dissected into ultimate linear segments; stipules small, membranous, comb-like.
Flowers	Flowers long-pedunculate, solitary in the leaf axils, whitish or light yellow with a tinge of blue, the spur short; sepals lanceolate, about as long as the petals; style head copiously short-hairy.	Flowers about 12 mm. long, yellow, the upper pair of petals brownish-backed, the lower three purplish-penciled, the lateral pair sparsely bearded; style head sparsely bearded.
Fruits	Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parieta	Fruit a 3-valved, puberulent capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.

	Viola arvensis	Viola sheltonii
Flowering time	March-June	April-June
Habitat	Fields, roadsides, wastelots, and other disturbed areas where escaping from cultivation.	Coniferous forest understory, often associated with moss-covered boulder fields with well-developed organic layer.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east across most of North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to Idaho; also in Colorado. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Introduced from Europe	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	V. adunca, V. canadensis, V. flettii, V. glabella, V. howellii, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. macloskeyi, V. nephrophylla, V. nuttallii, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palustris, V. pluviae, V. purpurea, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. ×wittrockiana	V. adunca, V. arvensis, V. canadensis, V. flettii, V. glabella, V. howellii, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. macloskeyi, V. nephrophylla, V. nuttallii, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palustris, V. pluviae, V. purpurea, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. sororia, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. ×wittrockiana
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Viola arvensis

Viola sheltonii

European field pansy

fan violet, Shelton's violet

Habit

Puberulent, freely-branched annual, 1-3 dm. tall.

Glabrous perennial from deep-seated rhizomes, the flowering stems 5-15 cm. tall.

Leaves

Leaf blades ovate to lanceolate, coarsely round-toothed, 1-3 cm. long, about equaling the petioles;

stipules very large, laciniate into 5-9 segments, usually with one leaf-like segment nearly as large as the main blade.

Leaf blades glaucous and somewhat purplish on the lower surface, 2-5 cm. long and broad, deeply cleft into 3 main lobes and dissected into ultimate linear segments;

stipules small, membranous, comb-like.

Flowers

Flowers long-pedunculate, solitary in the leaf axils, whitish or light yellow with a tinge of blue, the spur short;

sepals lanceolate, about as long as the petals;

style head copiously short-hairy.

Flowers about 12 mm. long, yellow, the upper pair of petals brownish-backed, the lower three purplish-penciled, the lateral pair sparsely bearded;

style head sparsely bearded.

Fruits

Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parieta

Fruit a 3-valved, puberulent capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.