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Mildred's clarkia

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

Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect, 30–100 cm, glabrous, glaucous.

Leaves

petiole 15–40 mm;

blade elliptic to ovate, 3–6 cm.

petiole 0–5 mm;

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

Inflorescences

open racemes, axis recurved in bud, straight only 1–3 nodes distal to open flowers;

buds pendent, tip acute.

open racemes, axis erect;

buds pendent.

Flowers

floral tube 2–3 mm;

sepals usually reflexed individually;

corolla rotate, petals reddish purple, often darker flecked or spotted, narrowly obdeltate to suborbiculate, unlobed, 11–25 × 7–18 mm, length 1.4–1.6 times width;

stamens 8, subequal, subtended by ciliate scales, anthers magenta or orange-red to yellow, pollen blue-gray or bright yellow to tan;

ovary shallowly 4-grooved, puberulent;

stigma exserted beyond anthers.

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

20–30 mm;

pedicel 0–5 mm.

10–30 mm.

Seeds

brown or gray, 1.5–1.8 mm, scaly-echinate, crest 0.1 mm.

brown, 1 mm, tuberculate, crest inconspicuous.

2n

= 18.

Clarkia mildrediae

Clarkia exilis

Phenology Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Woodlands
Elevation 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from USDA
California
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Clarkia mildrediae is closely related to, and may be derived from, C. borealis. Clarkia mildrediae subsp. lutescens is probably the direct ancestor of C. stellata. Clarkia mildrediae differs from C. borealis in petal color and inflorescence habit and from C. stellata in flower size and position of the stigma. On the basis of morphology, chromosome number and pairing, C. mildrediae appears to be one of the parents of the tetraploid species C. rhomboidea.

(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.)

Key
1. Petals 12–18 mm wide; anthers magenta, fresh pollen blue-gray.
subsp. mildrediae
1. Petals 7–16 mm wide; anthers yellow to orange-red, fresh pollen bright yellow to tan.
subsp. lutescens
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Myxocarpa 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. epilobioides, C. exilis, C. franciscana, C. gracilis, C. heterandra, C. imbricata, C. jolonensis, C. lassenensis, C. lewisii, C. lingulata, 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
Subordinate taxa
C. mildrediae subsp. lutescens, C. mildrediae subsp. mildrediae
Synonyms Phaeostoma mildrediae
Name authority (A. Heller) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953) H. Lewis & Vasek: Madroño 12: 211. (1954)
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