Burke: Viola flettii vs. Viola canadensis

	Viola flettii	Viola canadensis
	Flett's violet, Olympic violet	Canadian violet, rugose violet
Habit	Glabrous perennial from short, thick rhizomes, the stems 3-15 cm. long.	Glabrous to puberulent perennial from short, thick rhizomes, with slender stolons, 1-4 dm. tall.
Leaves	Leaves fleshy, petiolate, purplish-green, the blades reniform, 1.5-4 cm. broad, finely round-toothed; stipules lanceolate, toothed.	Leaf blades large, cordate and pointed, the petioles up to 3 dm. long; stipules lanceolate, entire, 1-2 cm. long.
Flowers	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.	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.
Fruits	Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.	Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal, the seeds brownish.

	Viola flettii	Viola canadensis
Flowering time	June-August	May-July
Habitat	Alpine rock crevices and talus slopes at high elevations.	Forest openings, riparian zones, and thickets from low to middle elevations.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington, where endemic to the Olympic Mountains [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	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]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Review Group 1 in Washington (WANHP)	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	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	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
Subordinate taxa		V. canadensis var. rugulosa
Web links	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	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

Viola flettii

Viola canadensis

Flett's violet, Olympic violet

Canadian violet, rugose violet

Habit

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

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

Leaves

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

stipules lanceolate, toothed.

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

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

Flowers

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.

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.

Fruits

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

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

Viola flettii

Viola canadensis

Flowering time

June-August

May-July

Habitat

Alpine rock crevices and talus slopes at high elevations.

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

Distribution

Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington, where endemic to the Olympic Mountains

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

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]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Review Group 1 in Washington (WANHP)

Not of concern

Sibling taxa