Clarkia lewisii
Clarkia gracilis
Lewis' clarkia
graceful clarkia, slender clarkia, slender godetia
erect, to 50 cm, puberulent to glabrate.
erect, to 90 cm, glabrous or puberulent.
petiole to 7 mm;
blade narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, 2–5 cm.
petiole to 11 mm;
blade linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2–7 cm.
open racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;
buds pendent.
racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;
buds pendent.
floral tube 1.5–4 mm, with ring of hairs at distal margin inside;
sepals reflexed together to 1 side;
corolla bowl-shaped, petals pinkish lavender shading white near middle, base purplish red or with red line, sometimes reddish purple-flecked, 10–30 mm;
stamens 8, unequal, width of all filaments subequal or inner slightly thinner, outer anthers lavender, inner smaller, paler.
floral tube 1.5–10 mm;
corolla bowl-shaped, petals pink to lavender or light purple, often lighter toward base, unspotted or with red spot near middle or base, obovate or obdeltate, 6–40 mm;
stamens 8, subequal;
ovary 4-grooved, puberulent;
stigma exserted or not beyond anthers.
15–70 mm, beak 0–3 mm.
25–50 mm, usually wider distally;
pedicel 0–10 mm.
brown, 1 mm, scaly to puberulent, crest inconspicuous.
brown or mottled with dark spots, 1.5–2 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.
= 18.
Clarkia lewisii
Clarkia gracilis
Clarkia lewisii is known primarily from Monterey County, sparsely in San Benito County, barely reaching Santa Clara County, and is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society. It is most closely related and morphologically similar to C. cylindrica, from which it can be distinguished by having all filaments about equally wide and a ring of hairs at the rim of the floral tube; outer filaments of C. cylindrica are two times as wide as the inner ones, and the ring of hairs is within the tube below the rim. Clarkia lewisii is also closely related to C. rostrata, from which it differs conspicuously by having a much shorter capsule beak.
Clarkia lewisii is a new name applied to the species known until 1978 as C. bottae, following examination and reinterpretation of the type of Godetia bottae Spach by P. H. Raven and D. R. Parnell (1978). They determined that the type specimens of G. bottae actually referred to the species then known as C. deflexa (Jepson) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis, and reapplied the name C. bottae to that species in sect. Fibula.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora).
Clarkia gracilis is a tetraploid derived from C. amoena and an unknown, presumably extinct, species related to C. arcuata and C. lassenensis. Clarkia gracilis is readily distinguished from C. amoena by the axis of the inflorescence in bud, which is not recurved in C. amoena; it is distinguished from C. arcuata and C. lassenensis by its four rather than eight-grooved ovary.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stigmas not exserted beyond anthers; petals 6–23 mm. | subsp. gracilis |
1. Stigmas exserted beyond anthers; petals20–40 mm. | → 2 |
2. Petals with red spot near mid blade, base of blades white. | subsp. sonomensis |
2. Petals unspotted, base of blades red or bright red. | → 3 |
3. Petals 20–30 mm. | subsp. tracyi |
3. Petals 30–40 mm. | subsp. albicaulis |
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
