Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia modesta

Clarkia stellata

Waltham Creek clarkia

Lake Almanor clarkia, lake amador clarkia
Stems

erect, 20–70 cm, puberulent.

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 5–15 mm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate or elliptic, 2–4 cm.

petiole 5–30 mm;

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

open racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;

buds pendent.

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

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip acute.
Flowers

floral tube 1–3 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side;

corolla generally rotate, petals usually arranged in lateral pairs, pink, usually darker flecked, oblanceolate to diamond-shaped, scarcely clawed, 8–12 mm;

stamens 8, unequal, outer anthers lavender, inner smaller, paler.

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

15–30 mm.

20–25 mm;

pedicel 1–3 mm.
Seeds

brown, 0.8–1 mm, tuberculate, crest inconspicuous.

unknown.
2n

= 16.

= 14.

Clarkia modesta

Clarkia stellata
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Sandy places in woodlands. Open coniferous forests.
Elevation 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.) 1000–1500 m. (3300–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia modesta occurs mainly in the Inner North Coast Ranges, the San Francisco Bay area, and the South Coast Ranges, from Trinity to Santa Barbara counties, and in the central and southern Sierra Nevada Foothills, from Mariposa to Tulare counties.

Clarkia modesta is one of the parents of the tetraploid species C. similis, from which it differs by having darker pink petals.

(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.)
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Phaeostoma > subsect. Lautiflorae 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. mildrediae, 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
Name authority Jepson: Man. Fl. Pl. Calif., 673. (1925) 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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