Clarkia amoena
Clarkia biloba
arewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring clarkia, godetia, yellow clarkia
two lobed clarkia, twolobe clarkia
erect to decumbent, 20–200 cm, puberulent.
erect, 30–100 cm, strigillose.
petiole to 10 mm;
blade linear to lanceolate, 1–6 cm.
petiole to 15 mm;
blade linear to lanceolate, 2–8 cm.
open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight;
buds erect.
open 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 1–4 mm;
sepals reflexed together to 1 side;
corolla rotate to bowl-shaped, petals purplish to pale pink, lavender, or bright pink to magenta, often red-flecked, broadly to narrowly fan-shaped, 10–25 mm, shallowly to deeply 2-lobed;
stamens 8, unequal, outer anthers lavender, inner ones smaller, paler.
15–40 mm, sometimes broader distally;
pedicel 0–13 mm.
10–25 mm.
brown to grayish brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.
brown, 1 mm, minutely scaly to puberulent, crest inconspicuous.
Clarkia amoena
Clarkia biloba
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.)
Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).
Clarkia biloba is most closely related to C. lingulata, which is derived from C. biloba subsp. australis. Some populations of C. biloba subsp. brandegeeae (originally described as a form of C. dudleyana) are morphologically very similar to some individuals of C. dudleyana but the two taxa are separated geographically, have different chromosome numbers, and hybrids between them are sterile.
(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 |
1. Petals bright pink to magenta, narrowly fan-shaped, length greater than 1.5 times width. | subsp. australis |
1. Petals lavender to pale or purplish pink, broadly fan-shaped, length not greater than 1.5 times width. | → 2 |
2. Petals purplish to pale pink, deeply 2-lobed, lobes usually 1/5–1/2 petal length. | subsp. biloba |
2. Petals lavender, shallowly 2-lobed, lobes usually less than 1/5 petal length, sometimes obscure. | Clarkia biloba subsp. brandegeeae |
- 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
