Blooms June to July
Found in cracks in bedrock, occasionally on talus slopes in
subalpine to alpine zones
Frequently found in conjunction with Piper’s bellflower but
tends to bloom sooner but they do overlap.
Flett's violet (left) and Piper's bellflower (right) side by side with the violet already bloomed and the bellflower not yet showing its buds.
Whenever I find a Flett's violet, I look around for Piper’s
bellflower and vice versa. They
seem to hang out in the same outcrops and cracks. They are not always found together but they do enough of the
time that it is worth it to check around.
I
think the violet that is most likely to be confused with Flett’s violet is the
Hook violet (Viola adunca). The two violets look somewhat similar
and, although Flett’s is more in the alpine, their habitats can be very
close. The easiest way to tell
them apart is the color of the center of the flower. Flett’s is yellow and Hook is white.
The
leaves are frequently called kidney-sized, but I’d say they are more
heart-shaped. We agree that the
leaves are dark green with purple veins, and finely scalloped (or maybe
serrated) edges. The flowers are
lavender to reddish purple with yellow in the center. The petals can also have darker purple veins.
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