Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia epilobioides

Clarkia australis

canyon clarkia, willow-herb clarkia

Small's southern clarkia
Stems

erect, 20–70 cm, sparsely puberulent.

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole to 7 mm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate, 1.5–2.5 cm.

petiole 10–30 mm;

blade linear to lanceolate, 2–5 cm.
Inflorescences

open racemes, sometimes few-branched, axis recurved at tip in bud;

buds pendent.

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

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip obtuse.
Flowers

usually cleistogamous;

floral tube 1–3 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side or in pairs;

corolla bowl-shaped, petals fading pink, obovate;

stamens 8, unequal, anthers white or cream, outer ones larger than inner.

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.
Capsules

10–30 mm;

pedicel 5–11 mm.

10–20 mm;

pedicel 0–4 mm.
Seeds

brown, 0.5–1 mm, scaly, crest inconspicuous.

brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly.
2n

= 18.

= 10.

Clarkia epilobioides

Clarkia australis
Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Shady sites, woodlands, chaparral. Yellow-pine forests.
Elevation 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) 800–1500 m. (2600–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia epilobioides is known from south-central Arizona in Gila, Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal counties, and widely in west-central and southwestern California and adjacent Baja California, Mexico. In California, it occurs from Contra Costa and San Mateo counties in the San Francisco Bay area to San Diego County in the south, including most of the Channel Islands.

Clarkia epilobioides is modally self-pollinating, and up to half of its flowers do not open, yet set a full complement of seeds (H. Lewis and M. E. Lewis 1955). However, outcrossing does occur, and C. epilobioides is one of the parents of the tetraploid species C. similis, from which it differs by having white, unflecked petals; it is also one of the parents of the tetraploid C. delicata.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

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.)
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Phaeostoma > subsect. Micranthae Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Myxocarpa
Sibling taxa
C. affinis, C. amoena, C. arcuata, C. australis, C. biloba, C. borealis, C. bottae, C. breweri, C. concinna, C. cylindrica, C. davyi, C. delicata, C. dudleyana, 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. 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
Synonyms Oenothera epilobioides, Godetia epilobioides C. virgata var. australis
Name authority (Nuttall ex Torrey & A. Gray) A. Nelson & J. F. Macbride: Bot. Gaz. 65: 60. (1918) E. Small: Canad. J. Bot. 49: 1216, fig. 4D. (1971)
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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