Clarkia australis
Clarkia amoena
Small's southern clarkia
arewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring clarkia, godetia, yellow clarkia
erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.
erect to decumbent, 20–200 cm, puberulent.
petiole 10–30 mm;
blade linear to lanceolate, 2–5 cm.
petiole to 10 mm;
blade linear to lanceolate, 1–6 cm.
open racemes, axis recurved only at tip in bud, straight 4+ nodes distal to open flowers;
buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip obtuse.
open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight;
buds erect.
floral tube 2–4 mm;
sepals reflexed individually;
corolla rotate, petals lavender-purple, mottled or spotted reddish purple, ± rhombic, unlobed, 6–12(–14) ×3–7 mm, length 2.2–3 times width;
stamens 8, subequal, subtended by ciliate scales, pollen blue-gray;
ovary shallowly 4-grooved;
stigma exserted beyond anthers.
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.
10–20 mm;
pedicel 0–4 mm.
15–40 mm, sometimes broader distally;
pedicel 0–13 mm.
brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly.
brown to grayish brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.
= 10.
Clarkia australis
Clarkia amoena
Clarkia australis is found in the foothills of the central Sierra Nevada range, from Calaveras, Madera, Mariposa, and Tuolumne counties, and has been designated as rare by the California Native Plant Society.
Clarkia australis is morphologically very similar to C. virgata and, based on its more southern distribution, may be derived from it. They are most readily distinguished morphologically by the narrower leaves of C. australis.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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.)
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
