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sweet blue violet

Howell's violet

Habit Low, fragrant, creeping, soft-hairy perennial with stolons that root at the nodes. Sparsely pubescent perennial from scaly rhizomes, 2-10 cm. tall.
Leaves

Leaves tufted, cordate and rounded, petiolate, enlarging in summer.

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.

Flowers

Flowers blue-violet or white, rarely lilac, pink or yellow;

sepals blunt.

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.

Fruits

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

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

Viola odorata

Viola howellii

Flowering time March-September April-May
Habitat Sheltered, disturbed areas in somewhat moist soil. Moist woods and prairies at low to moderate elevations.
Distribution
Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Idaho; also in eastern North America.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Occurring west of the Cascades crest and in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; southwestern British Columbia to California.
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Origin Introduced from Europe Native
Conservation status Not of concern Not of concern
Sibling taxa
V. adunca, V. arvensis, V. canadensis, V. flettii, V. glabella, V. howellii, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. macloskeyi, V. nephrophylla, V. nuttallii, 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. 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
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