Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia australis

Clarkia breweri

Small's southern clarkia

Brewer's clarkia, fairy fans
Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect or decumbent, to 20 cm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 10–30 mm;

blade linear to lanceolate, 2–5 cm.

petiole to 20 mm;

blade linear to lanceolate, 2–5 cm.
Inflorescences

open racemes, axis recurved only at tip in bud, straight 4+ nodes distal to open flowers;

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip obtuse.

racemes, axis straight or recurved;

buds pendent.
Flowers

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 20–35 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side, not petal-like, green to magenta;

corolla rotate, petals pink, broadly fan-shaped, 15–25 mm, length equal to width, without claw, 3-lobed, middle lobe longer and much narrower, linear to oblanceolate;

stamens 4, filaments wider distally;

ovary inconspicuously grooved;

stigma exserted beyond anthers.
Capsules

10–20 mm;

pedicel 0–4 mm.

15–40 mm;

subsessile.
Seeds

brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly.

reddish brown, 2–3 mm, scaly-tuberculate, crest to 0.8 mm, conspicuous.
2n

= 10.

= 14.

Clarkia australis

Clarkia breweri
Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Yellow-pine forests. Woodlands, chaparral.
Elevation 800–1500 m. (2600–4900 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Clarkia breweri is restricted to dry woodlands and chaparral west of the Central Valley from the San Francisco Bay area into the southern Coast Ranges in Fresno, Monterey, and San Benito counties.

(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. Myxocarpa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Eucharidium
Sibling taxa
C. affinis, C. amoena, C. arcuata, 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. 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
Synonyms C. virgata var. australis Eucharidium breweri
Name authority E. Small: Canad. J. Bot. 49: 1216, fig. 4D. (1971) (A. Gray) Greene: Pittonia 1: 141. (1887)
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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