Burke: Viola flettii vs. Viola palustris

	Viola flettii	Viola palustris
	Flett's violet, Olympic violet	marsh violet
Habit	Glabrous perennial from short, thick rhizomes, the stems 3-15 cm. long.	Glabrous perennial from slender, widespread rhizomes, with creeping stolons, the petioles and peduncles rising from the rhizomes.
Leaves	Leaves fleshy, petiolate, purplish-green, the blades reniform, 1.5-4 cm. broad, finely round-toothed; stipules lanceolate, toothed.	Leaf blades cordate to reniform, 2.5-3.5 cm. broad, with coarse, rounded teeth; petioles up to 15 cm. long; stipules chaffy, lanceolate, entire.
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 10-13 mm. long, the peduncle about the same length as the leaves; petals white to lilac, the lower 3 purple-penciled, the lateral pair sparsely bearded; style head glabrous, lobed.
Fruits	Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.	Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal, seeds dark brown.

	Viola flettii	Viola palustris
Flowering time	June-August	May - July
Habitat	Alpine rock crevices and talus slopes at high elevations.	Moist meadows and streambanks, low to mid-elevations in the mountains
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington, where endemic to the Olympic Mountains [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, northern Great Plains, northeastern North America, and Eurasia. [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. canadensis, V. flettii, V. glabella, V. howellii, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. macloskeyi, V. nephrophylla, V. nuttallii, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. pluviae, V. purpurea, V. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. ×wittrockiana
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, 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 flettii

Viola palustris

Flett's violet, Olympic violet

marsh violet

Habit

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

Glabrous perennial from slender, widespread rhizomes, with creeping stolons, the petioles and peduncles rising from the rhizomes.

Leaves

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

stipules lanceolate, toothed.

Leaf blades cordate to reniform, 2.5-3.5 cm. broad, with coarse, rounded teeth;

petioles up to 15 cm. long;

stipules chaffy, lanceolate, entire.

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 10-13 mm. long, the peduncle about the same length as the leaves;

petals white to lilac, the lower 3 purple-penciled, the lateral pair sparsely bearded;

style head glabrous, lobed.

Fruits

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

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

Viola flettii

Viola palustris

Flowering time

June-August

May - July

Habitat

Alpine rock crevices and talus slopes at high elevations.

Moist meadows and streambanks, low to mid-elevations in the mountains

Distribution

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

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, northern Great Plains, northeastern North America, and Eurasia.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Review Group 1 in Washington (WANHP)

Not of concern

Sibling taxa