Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia epilobioides

Clarkia franciscana

canyon clarkia, willow-herb clarkia

Presidio clarkia
Stems

erect, 20–70 cm, sparsely puberulent.

erect, to 40 cm, strigillose.
Leaves

petiole to 7 mm;

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

petiole 0–5 mm;

blade narrowly lanceolate, 1–5.5 cm.
Inflorescences

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

buds pendent.

racemes, axis straight;

buds erect.
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 one side;

corolla bowl-shaped, petals lavender-pink shading white near middle, base bright reddish purple, fan-shaped, 5–13 mm, apex erose;

stamens 8, subequal;

ovary cylindrical, 4-grooved, puberulent;

stigma not exserted beyond anthers.
Capsules

10–30 mm;

pedicel 5–11 mm.

20–40 mm;

pedicel 0–15 mm.
Seeds

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

gray, 1.2–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.2 mm.
2n

= 18.

= 14.

Clarkia epilobioides

Clarkia franciscana
Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Shady sites, woodlands, chaparral. Serpentine soil.
Elevation 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) 50 m. (200 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 franciscana is an endangered species (designated rare by the California Native Plant Society), restricted to serpentine soils in coastal grass and shrub communities. The only known localities for it are the Presidio in San Francisco County, and the Oakland Hills in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Geographic distribution and petal color pattern suggest that Clarkia franciscana may be a self-pollinating derivative of C. rubicunda. If true, enzyme studies indicate that the origin is not recent.

Clarkia franciscana is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

(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. Rhodanthos > subsect. Primigenia
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. exilis, 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 & P. H. Raven: Brittonia 10: 7, fig. 1a, b, d. (1958)
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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