Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia epilobioides

Clarkia exilis

canyon clarkia, willow-herb clarkia

Kern River clarkia, Kern River or slender clarkia, slender clarkia
Stems

erect, 20–70 cm, sparsely puberulent.

erect, 30–100 cm, glabrous, glaucous.
Leaves

petiole to 7 mm;

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

petiole 0–5 mm;

blade bright green, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 1–6 cm, surfaces not glaucous, glabrous.
Inflorescences

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

buds pendent.

open racemes, axis erect;

buds pendent.
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 1–3 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side, usually green, sparsely to densely puberulent inside, without longer, spreading hairs;

corolla rotate, petals lavender-pink or white, often with dark purplish spot, usually diamond-shaped, 5–15 mm, claw slender, equal to or longer than blade, entire;

stamens 8, unequal, outer anthers red, inner smaller, paler;

ovary with hairs as on sepals;

stigma subequal to anthers.
Capsules

10–30 mm;

pedicel 5–11 mm.

10–30 mm.
Seeds

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

brown, 1 mm, tuberculate, crest inconspicuous.
2n

= 18.

= 18.

Clarkia epilobioides

Clarkia exilis
Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Shady sites, woodlands, chaparral. Woodlands
Elevation 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 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 exilis is of limited distribution, known primarily from the southern Sierra Nevada Foothills and Tehachapi Mountain area in Kern and Tulare counties, with unverified reports from Fresno, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties. It is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society.

Clarkia exilis is derived from C. unguiculata and is closely related to C. springvillensis and C. tembloriensis.

(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. Phaeostoma > subsect. Phaeostoma
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. australis, C. biloba, C. borealis, C. bottae, C. breweri, C. concinna, C. cylindrica, C. davyi, C. delicata, C. dudleyana, C. epilobioides, 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
Name authority (Nuttall ex Torrey & A. Gray) A. Nelson & J. F. Macbride: Bot. Gaz. 65: 60. (1918) H. Lewis & Vasek: Madroño 12: 211. (1954)
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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