Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia mildrediae

Clarkia stellata

Mildred's clarkia

Lake Almanor clarkia, lake amador clarkia
Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 15–40 mm;

blade elliptic to ovate, 3–6 cm.

petiole 5–30 mm;

blade lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, 1–5 cm.
Inflorescences

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

buds pendent, tip acute.

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

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip acute.
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 1.5–2 mm;

sepals reflexed individually;

corolla rotate, petals lavender-purple, not dark-flecked or spotted, obovate, 6–8 × 3–5 mm, inconspicuously 3-lobed;

stamens 8, subequal, subtended by ciliate scales, pollen yellow;

ovary shallowly 4-grooved, puberulent;

stigma not exserted beyond anthers.
Capsules

20–30 mm;

pedicel 0–5 mm.

20–25 mm;

pedicel 1–3 mm.
Seeds

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

unknown.
2n

= 14.

Clarkia mildrediae

Clarkia stellata
Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Open coniferous forests.
Elevation 1000–1500 m. (3300–4900 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 stellata is known from the southern Cascade–northern Sierra Nevada region, including Lassen, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, and Tehama counties (with unverified reports from Butte and Modoc counties).

Clarkia stellata is probably a self-pollinating derivative of C. mildrediae subsp. lutescens, to judge from pollen color. The two species are readily distinguishedby the much smaller flowers of C. stellata and the position of the stigma. Hybrids have low fertility due to chromosomal rearrangement. Clarkia stellata is morphologically very similar to the self-pollinating tetraploid C. rhomboidea but can be distinguished from it by yellow pollen and shallowly lobed, unspotted petals.

(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. Myxocarpa
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. 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. 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) Mosquin: Leafl. W. Bot. 9: 215. (1962)
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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