Clarkia amoena
Clarkia arcuata
arewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring clarkia, godetia, yellow clarkia
glandular clarkia, glandular clarkia or fairyfan, glandular fairyfan
erect to decumbent, 20–200 cm, puberulent.
erect, to 8 cm, glabrous or puberulent.
petiole to 10 mm;
blade linear to lanceolate, 1–6 cm.
sessile;
blade linear to narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate, 1.5–6cm, surfaces glabrate.
open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight;
buds erect.
racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;
buds pendent.
floral tube 3–10 mm;
sepals usually reflexed together to one side, or rarely in pairs or singly;
corolla bowl-shaped, petals pale pink to lavender, usually with red spot or mark near middle, obovate to fan-shaped, 15–60 mm, not lobed, apex sometimes shallowly notched or erose;
stamens 8, in 2 subequal sets;
ovary cylindrical and 4-grooved or fusiform and 8-grooved, puberulent;
stigma exserted or not beyond anthers.
floral tube 3–7 mm, puberulent with spreading hairs and shorter glandular hairs;
corolla bowl-shaped, petals pinkish lavender, lighter proximally, often with dark reddish spot at base, broadly obovate or obdeltate, 10–30 mm;
stamens 8, subequal;
ovary 8-grooved, sparsely puberulent, hairs mostly glandular;
stigma exserted beyond anthers.
15–40 mm, sometimes broader distally;
pedicel 0–13 mm.
10–35 mm;
pedicel 5–15 mm.
brown to grayish brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.
brown, 2 mm, minutely scaly, crest 0.5 mm, prominent.
= 14.
Clarkia amoena
Clarkia arcuata
Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora).
Clarkia amoena is closely related to C. rubicunda, which differs morphologically mainly in the color pattern of the petals. Petals of C. amoena have a conspicuous red spot or group of small red spots or marks near the middle, whereas those of C. rubicunda have a red area at the base and are not spotted near the middle. The areas of distribution of the two species barely overlap in California just north of San Francisco Bay, and C. rubicunda could be considered a southern geographical race or subspecies of C. amoena were it not that their readily formed hybrids are sterile due to chromosomal rearrangement. Clarkia amoena is one of the parent species of the allotetraploid C. gracilis. Intermediates between subspecies are frequent.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Clarkia arcuata is primarily distributed in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada from Mariposa to Tehama counties, sparsely south to Kern County, and with one disjunct occurrence in Shasta County; it has also been reported from Napa County.
Clarkia arcuata is morphologically most similar to C. lassenensis, from which it differs in fruit characteristics. The two species have distinct areas of distribution and attempts to produce hybrids have not been successful.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stigmas not exserted beyond anthers; petals less than 20 mm; coastal British Columbia, Oregon, Washington. | subsp. caurina |
1. Stigmas exserted beyond anthers; petals 15–60 mm. | → 2 |
2. Ovaries 8-grooved, broadly fusiform, 8–12 mm wide. | subsp. whitneyi |
2. Ovaries 4-grooved, cylindrical to subclavate, 2–6 mm wide. | → 3 |
3. Inflorescences open, internodes longer than subtending flowers, bracts sublinear. | subsp. huntiana |
3. Inflorescences congested, internodes shorter than subtending flowers, bracts narrowly lanceolate or wider. | → 4 |
4. Stems decumbent to suberect, to 100 cm; petals 20–35 mm, usually with red spot mid blade; coastal California. | subsp. amoena |
4. Stems erect, to 200 cm; petals 30–40 mm, usually without red spot or with very small spot or streak mid blade; inland Oregon, Washington. | subsp. lindleyi |
- 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
