Burke: Viola canadensis vs. Viola flettii

	Viola canadensis	Viola flettii
	Canadian violet, rugose violet	Flett's violet, Olympic violet
Habit	Glabrous to puberulent perennial from short, thick rhizomes, with slender stolons, 1-4 dm. tall.	Glabrous perennial from short, thick rhizomes, the stems 3-15 cm. long.
Leaves	Leaf blades large, cordate and pointed, the petioles up to 3 dm. long; stipules lanceolate, entire, 1-2 cm. long.	Leaves fleshy, petiolate, purplish-green, the blades reniform, 1.5-4 cm. broad, finely round-toothed; stipules lanceolate, toothed.
Flowers	Flowers from the upper portion of the stem, the peduncles shorter than the leaves, the spur short; sepals lanceolate, hairy; petals 1.5 cm. long, white with a yellow base, the 3 lower ones with purple penciling, all purplish tinged on the back; style head sparsely bearded.	Flowers 1.5 cm. long, the spur very short, yellow; petals purplish-violet, yellow at the base, the lower 3 dark-veined, the lateral pair yellow-bearded; style head well bearded.
Fruits	Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal, the seeds brownish.	Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.

	Viola canadensis	Viola flettii
Flowering time	May-July	June-August
Habitat	Forest openings, riparian zones, and thickets from low to middle elevations.	Alpine rock crevices and talus slopes at high elevations.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, further east across North America to the Atlantic Coast. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington, where endemic to the Olympic Mountains [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Review Group 1 in Washington (WANHP)
Sibling taxa	V. adunca, V. arvensis, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa	V. canadensis var. rugulosa
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: 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	Local floras: WA Local Web sites: 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 canadensis

Viola flettii

Canadian violet, rugose violet

Flett's violet, Olympic violet

Habit

Glabrous to puberulent perennial from short, thick rhizomes, with slender stolons, 1-4 dm. tall.

Glabrous perennial from short, thick rhizomes, the stems 3-15 cm. long.

Leaves

Leaf blades large, cordate and pointed, the petioles up to 3 dm. long;

stipules lanceolate, entire, 1-2 cm. long.

Leaves fleshy, petiolate, purplish-green, the blades reniform, 1.5-4 cm. broad, finely round-toothed;

stipules lanceolate, toothed.

Flowers

Flowers from the upper portion of the stem, the peduncles shorter than the leaves, the spur short;

sepals lanceolate, hairy;

petals 1.5 cm. long, white with a yellow base, the 3 lower ones with purple penciling, all purplish tinged on the back;

style head sparsely bearded.

Flowers 1.5 cm. long, the spur very short, yellow;

petals purplish-violet, yellow at the base, the lower 3 dark-veined, the lateral pair yellow-bearded;

style head well bearded.

Fruits

Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal, the seeds brownish.

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

Viola canadensis

Viola flettii

Flowering time

May-July

June-August

Habitat

Forest openings, riparian zones, and thickets from low to middle elevations.

Alpine rock crevices and talus slopes at high elevations.

Distribution

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains, further east across North America to the Atlantic Coast.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]