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Mosquin's clarkia

Presidio clarkia

Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect, to 40 cm, strigillose.

Leaves

petiole 10–30 mm;

blade linear-lanceolate to ovate or elliptic, 2–5 cm.

petiole 0–5 mm;

blade narrowly lanceolate, 1–5.5 cm.

Inflorescences

open racemes, axis recurved only at tip in bud, straight 4+ nodes distal to open flowers;

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip obtuse.

racemes, axis straight;

buds erect.

Flowers

floral tube 2–5 mm;

sepals reflexed individually;

corolla rotate, petals lavender-purple, often with darker spots, ± rhombic, unlobed, 10–20 × 6–13 mm, length 1.5–2 times width;

stamens 8, subequal, subtended by ciliate scales, pollen blue-gray;

ovary shallowly 4-grooved;

stigma exserted beyond anthers.

floral tube 1–3 mm;

sepals reflexed together to one side;

corolla bowl-shaped, petals lavender-pink shading white near middle, base bright reddish purple, fan-shaped, 5–13 mm, apex erose;

stamens 8, subequal;

ovary cylindrical, 4-grooved, puberulent;

stigma not exserted beyond anthers.

Capsules

15–25 mm;

pedicel 0–3 mm.

20–40 mm;

pedicel 0–15 mm.

Seeds

brown or gray, 0.9–1.2 mm, scaly.

gray, 1.2–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.2 mm.

2n

= 12.

= 14.

Clarkia mosquinii

Clarkia franciscana

Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul. Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Yellow-pine forests. Serpentine soil.
Elevation 200–300 m. (700–1000 ft.) 50 m. (200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia mosquinii is known only from a small area in the Feather River drainage at the northern limits of the Sierra Nevada range in Butte and (barely) Plumas counties; it is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society.

Clarkia mosquinii is closely related to C. borealis and may be a derivative of that species with a reduced chromosome number. In addition to chromosome number, they differ in geographical distribution and shape of the buds, which are blunt at the tip in C. mosquinii and acute or acuminate in C. borealis. Clarkia mosquinii is also closely related, and probably ancestral, to two species with 2n = 10, C. australis and C. virgata, which have more southern distributions.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Clarkia franciscana is an endangered species (designated rare by the California Native Plant Society), restricted to serpentine soils in coastal grass and shrub communities. The only known localities for it are the Presidio in San Francisco County, and the Oakland Hills in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Geographic distribution and petal color pattern suggest that Clarkia franciscana may be a self-pollinating derivative of C. rubicunda. If true, enzyme studies indicate that the origin is not recent.

Clarkia franciscana is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

(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. Myxocarpa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Rhodanthos > subsect. Primigenia
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. modesta, 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. 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
Synonyms C. mosquinii subsp. xerophylla
Name authority E. Small: Canad. J. Bot. 49: 1216, fig. 4A,B. (1971) H. Lewis & P. H. Raven: Brittonia 10: 7, fig. 1a, b, d. (1958)
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