Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia mosquinii

Clarkia stellata

Mosquin's clarkia

Lake Almanor clarkia, lake amador clarkia
Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 10–30 mm;

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

petiole 5–30 mm;

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

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

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip obtuse.

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

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

15–25 mm;

pedicel 0–3 mm.

20–25 mm;

pedicel 1–3 mm.
Seeds

brown or gray, 0.9–1.2 mm, scaly.

unknown.
2n

= 12.

= 14.

Clarkia mosquinii

Clarkia stellata
Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Yellow-pine forests. Open coniferous forests.
Elevation 200–300 m. (700–1000 ft.) 1000–1500 m. (3300–4900 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 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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms C. mosquinii subsp. xerophylla
Name authority E. Small: Canad. J. Bot. 49: 1216, fig. 4A,B. (1971) 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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