Burke: Viola howellii vs. Viola purpurea

	Viola howellii	Viola purpurea
	Howell's violet
Habit	Sparsely pubescent perennial from scaly rhizomes, 2-10 cm. tall.	Puberulent perennial from a slender, scaly rhizome, the aerial stems 5-15 mm. long; herbage usually glaucous-green, purplish-veined, often purplish throughout.
Leaves	Leaf blades cordate to reniform-cordate, with coarse, rounded teeth, the petioles of the many basal leaves 10-15 cm. long; stipules 3-10 mm. long, prominently toothed.	Leaf blades rather thick and fleshy, orbicular to lanceolate, cordate to wedge-shaped at the base, sub-entire to wavy-margined or toothed; petioles 2-6 cm. long; stipules lanceolate, entire to few-toothed.
Flowers	Flowers 1.5-2 cm. long, the spur very prominent, saccate; sepals obtuse, auriculate at the base; petals bluish-violet to nearly white, strongly veined with purple, the lateral pair long-bearded; style sparsely bearded.	Peduncles shorter than the leaves; flowers 5-12 mm. long, spur very short; petals yellow, brownish-penciled, the lateral pair bearded.
Fruits	Fruit a 3-valved capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal, seeds light brown.	Fruit a 3-valved, puberulent capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.

	Viola howellii	Viola purpurea
Flowering time	April-May	May-August
Habitat	Moist woods and prairies at low to moderate elevations.	Open, rocky, fairly dry slopes, moderate to high elevations in the mountains
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	V. adunca, V. arvensis, V. canadensis, V. flettii, V. glabella, 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. renifolia, V. riviniana, V. selkirkii, V. sempervirens, V. sheltonii, V. sororia, V. tricolor, V. trinervata, V. ×wittrockiana
Subordinate taxa		V. purpurea ssp. venosa
Web links	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	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 howellii

Viola purpurea

Howell's violet

Habit

Sparsely pubescent perennial from scaly rhizomes, 2-10 cm. tall.

Puberulent perennial from a slender, scaly rhizome, the aerial stems 5-15 mm. long; herbage usually glaucous-green, purplish-veined, often purplish throughout.

Leaves

Leaf blades cordate to reniform-cordate, with coarse, rounded teeth, the petioles of the many basal leaves 10-15 cm. long;

stipules 3-10 mm. long, prominently toothed.

Leaf blades rather thick and fleshy, orbicular to lanceolate, cordate to wedge-shaped at the base, sub-entire to wavy-margined or toothed;

petioles 2-6 cm. long;

stipules lanceolate, entire to few-toothed.

Flowers

Flowers 1.5-2 cm. long, the spur very prominent, saccate;

sepals obtuse, auriculate at the base;

petals bluish-violet to nearly white, strongly veined with purple, the lateral pair long-bearded;

style sparsely bearded.

Peduncles shorter than the leaves;