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Mildred's clarkia

graceful clarkia, slender clarkia, slender godetia

Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect, to 90 cm, glabrous or puberulent.

Leaves

petiole 15–40 mm;

blade elliptic to ovate, 3–6 cm.

petiole to 11 mm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2–7 cm.

Inflorescences

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

buds pendent, tip acute.

racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;

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 1.5–10 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.

Capsules

20–30 mm;

pedicel 0–5 mm.

25–50 mm, usually wider distally;

pedicel 0–10 mm.

Seeds

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

brown or mottled with dark spots, 1.5–2 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.

Clarkia mildrediae

Clarkia gracilis

Distribution
from USDA
California
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
w United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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.)

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.)

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
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
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Myxocarpa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Rhodanthos > subsect. Jugales
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. exilis, C. franciscana, 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
C. gracilis subsp. albicaulis, C. gracilis subsp. gracilis, C. gracilis subsp. sonomensis, C. gracilis subsp. tracyi
Synonyms Phaeostoma mildrediae Godetia gracilis, G. amoena var. gracilis
Name authority (A. Heller) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953) (Piper) A. Nelson & J. F. Macbride: Bot. Gaz. 65: 63. (1918)
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