Burke: Viola purpurea vs. Viola pluviae

	Viola purpurea	Viola pluviae
		rain 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 few, arising from long petioles attached to the rhizome.
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.	Apex of largest leaves obtuse or shortly acuminate from protruding apical tooth; upper and lower leaf surfaces glabrous.
Flowers	Peduncles shorter than the leaves; flowers 5-12 mm. long, spur very short; petals yellow, brownish-penciled, the lateral pair bearded.	blue, 9-12 mm long in profile.
Fruits	Fruit a 3-valved, puberulent capsule, ovary superior, placentation parietal.

	Viola purpurea	Viola pluviae
Flowering time	May-August	April-July
Habitat	Open, rocky, fairly dry slopes, moderate to high elevations in the mountains	Wet areas at low to moderate elevations, including in part to full shade.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to Idaho and Montana; Eurasia.
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. nuttallii, V. odorata, V. orbiculata, V. palustris, 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
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) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Viola purpurea

Viola pluviae

rain 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 few, arising from long petioles attached to the rhizome.

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.

Apex of largest leaves obtuse or shortly acuminate from protruding apical tooth; upper and lower leaf surfaces glabrous.

Flowers

Peduncles shorter than the leaves;

flowers 5-12 mm. long, spur very short;

petals yellow, brownish-penciled, the lateral pair bearded.

blue, 9-12 mm long in profile.

Fruits