Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia imbricata

Clarkia similis

Vine Hill clarkia

Ramona clarkia
Stems

erect, to 60 cm, glabrous or sparsely puberulent.

erect, 30–90 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 0–2 mm;

blade lanceolate, 2–2.5 cm.

petiole to 8 mm;

blade narrowly lanceolate to elliptic, 2–4 cm.
Inflorescences

dense racemes, axis straight;

buds erect.

open racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;

buds pendent.
Flowers

floral tube 10–15 mm, conspicuously veined, lavender striate within;

sepals reflexed individually;

corolla bowl-shaped, petals lavender shading to white proximally, with large, wedge-shaped purplish red spot near apex, 20–25 mm;

stamens 8, subequal;

ovary 8-grooved, longer than adjacent internode;

stigma exserted beyond anthers.

floral tube 1.5–2 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side;

corolla rotate to bowl-shaped, petals pale pink shading nearly white near base, purple-flecked, fading pink, oblanceolate or obovate to diamond-shaped, 6–10 mm;

stamens 8, unequal, outer anthers dark pink, inner smaller, paler;

ovary shallowly 8-grooved.
Capsules

10–15 mm.

15–30 mm;

subsessile.
Seeds

brown or gray, 2 mm, scaly, crest 0.2 mm.

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

= 16.

= 34.

Clarkia imbricata

Clarkia similis
Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Clearings, roadsides, chaparral. Shady sites, oak woodlands, chaparral.
Elevation 50 m. (200 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia imbricata, known from only one small area of Sonoma County, is designated as rare by the California Native Plant Society, and is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants; it is a relict of a lineage with 2n = 16 that presumably contributed a genome to the tetraploid species C. davyi and the South American C. tenella.

Morphologically, Clarkia imbricata is most similar to C. speciosa, C. williamsonii, and some populations of C. purpurea. Clarkia imbricata can be distinguished from C. speciosa by the color pattern of the petals and from C. williamsonii and populations of C. purpurea with similar flower size and color pattern by its broader, ascending, overlapping leaves.

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

Clarkia similis is known from southwestern California and northern Baja California, Mexico, mainly in the South Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular ranges, from Monterey and San Benito counties in the north to San Diego County in the south. Reports from the Southern Sierra Nevada Foothills in Kern County and the Sacramento Valley in Tehama County are not confirmed.

Clarkia similis is a tetraploid species derived through polyploidization following hybridization between C. epilobioides and C. modesta.

(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. Godetia Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Phaeostoma > subsect. Prognatae
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. epilobioides, C. exilis, C. franciscana, C. gracilis, C. heterandra, 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. 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. speciosa, C. springvillensis, C. stellata, C. tembloriensis, C. unguiculata, C. virgata, C. williamsonii, C. xantiana
Name authority H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 38. (1953) H. Lewis & W. R. Ernst: Madroño 12: 89. (1953)
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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