Clarkia amoena
Clarkia lingulata
arewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring clarkia, godetia, yellow clarkia
Merced clarkia
erect to decumbent, 20–200 cm, puberulent.
erect, to 60 cm, puberulent.
petiole to 10 mm;
blade linear to lanceolate, 1–6 cm.
petiole to 15 mm;
blade linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2–6 cm.
open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight;
buds erect.
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, petals bright pink, red-flecked or not, oblanceolate, 10–20 mm, apex subentire or minutely notched;
stamens 8, unequal, outer anthers lavender, inner smaller, paler.
15–40 mm, sometimes broader distally;
pedicel 0–13 mm.
10–20 mm.
brown to grayish brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.
brown, 1 mm, minutely scaly to puberulent, crest inconspicuous.
-cences open racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;
buds pendent.
= 18.
Clarkia amoena
Clarkia lingulata
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 lingulata is listed as endangered by the State of California, known from only a few populations in Merced River Canyon, Mariposa County. It is derived from C. biloba subsp. australis, from which it can be distinguished morphologically by its narrower, unlobed petals; the two taxa also differ in chromosome number, and form only highly sterile hybrids.
(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
