Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia affinis

Clarkia delicata

chaparral clarkia, chaparral clarkia or fairyfan, chaparral fairyfan

campo clarkia, delicate clarkia
Stems

erect, to 80 cm, puberulent.

erect, 20–70 cm, glabrous and glaucous distally, usually puberulent basally.
Leaves

petiole 0–3 mm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1.5–7 cm.

petiole to 10 mm;

blade lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, 1.5–4 cm.
Inflorescences

dense spikes, axis straight;

buds erect.

open racemes, sometimes branched, axis straight;

buds pendent.
Flowers

floral tube1.5–4 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side;

corolla bowl-shaped, petals 5–15 mm;

stamens 8, subequal;

ovary cylindrical, 8-grooved, length at least 10 times width;

stigma not exserted beyond anthers.

floral tube 2 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side;

corolla rotate, petals oblanceolate to obovate, 8–12 mm, claw tapered, shorter than blade, apex entire;

stamens 8, unequal, outer anthers orange-red, inner smaller, paler.
Capsules

15–30 mm, beak 3–7 mm;

pedicel 0–5 mm.

15–35 mm;

subsessile.
Seeds

brown or gray, 1–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.

brown, 1–1.5 mm, tuberculate (especially on raphe), crest inconspicuous.
2n

= 52.

= 36.

Clarkia affinis

Clarkia delicata
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Openings in woodlands and chaparral. Oak woodlands, chaparral.
Elevation 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia affinis is known primarily from west-central California and the North Coast Ranges, and more scattered in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and Western Transverse Ranges.

Clarkia affinis is a hexaploid most closely related to C. purpurea; both have 2n = 52. Chromosome pairing in hybrids between them, as well as morphology, suggest that they have a tetraploid (2n = 34) genome in common. The two species are most readily distinguished by their immature capsules, which in C. affinis are slender, at least ten times longer than wide, beaked, and shallowly grooved, whereas those of C. purpurea are stout, not more than eight times longer than wide, not prominently beaked, and deeply grooved; the sepals of the former are generally reflexed together in fours whereas those of the latter are reflexed individually or in twos. Based on morphology and molecular data, the diploid genome probably came from C. cylindrica or a related species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Clarkia delicata is known in California only from the Peninsular Ranges, mainly in San Diego County with outliers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and in northern Baja California, Mexico. Because of its limited range, it is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society. It is a tetraploid derived from hybridization between C. epilobioides and C. unguiculata.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Biortis Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Phaeostoma > subsect. Connubium
Sibling taxa
C. amoena, C. arcuata, C. australis, C. biloba, C. borealis, C. bottae, C. breweri, C. concinna, C. cylindrica, C. davyi, C. delicata, C. dudleyana, C. epilobioides, C. exilis, C. franciscana, C. gracilis, C. heterandra, C. imbricata, C. jolonensis, C. lassenensis, C. lewisii, C. lingulata, C. mildrediae, C. modesta, C. mosquinii, C. prostrata, C. pulchella, C. purpurea, C. rhomboidea, C. rostrata, C. rubicunda, C. similis, C. speciosa, C. springvillensis, C. stellata, C. tembloriensis, C. unguiculata, C. virgata, C. williamsonii, C. xantiana
C. affinis, C. amoena, C. arcuata, C. australis, C. biloba, C. borealis, C. bottae, C. breweri, C. concinna, C. cylindrica, C. davyi, C. dudleyana, C. epilobioides, C. exilis, C. franciscana, C. gracilis, C. heterandra, C. imbricata, C. jolonensis, C. lassenensis, C. lewisii, C. lingulata, C. mildrediae, C. modesta, C. mosquinii, C. prostrata, C. pulchella, C. purpurea, C. rhomboidea, C. rostrata, C. rubicunda, C. similis, C. speciosa, C. springvillensis, C. stellata, C. tembloriensis, C. unguiculata, C. virgata, C. williamsonii, C. xantiana
Synonyms Godetia delicata
Name authority H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953) (Abrams) A. Nelson & J. F. Macbride: Bot. Gaz. 65: 60. (1905)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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