Burke: Viola purpurea vs. Viola nuttallii

	Viola purpurea	Viola nuttallii
		Nuttall's violet
Habit	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 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	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, puberulent capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.

	Viola purpurea	Viola nuttallii
Flowering time	May-August	April-July
Habitat	Open, rocky, fairly dry slopes, moderate to high elevations in the mountains	Grassland, sagebrush and juniper flats, and moist to dry openings in coniferous forests.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Britsh Columbia to California, east to the 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. 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	V. adunca, V. arvensis, V. canadensis, V. flettii, V. glabella, V. howellii, V. lanceolata, V. langsdorffii, V. macloskeyi, V. nephrophylla, 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. purpurea ssp. venosa	V. nuttallii var. bakeri, V. nuttallii var. praemorsa, V. nuttallii var. vallicola
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: WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Viola purpurea

Viola nuttallii

Nuttall's violet

Habit

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 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

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, puberulent capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.