Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia rhomboidea

Clarkia similis

common clarkia, diamond clarkia, diamond fairyfan, forest clarkia, rhombic petal clarkia, rhomboid farewell-to-spring, tongue clarkia

Ramona clarkia
Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect, 30–90 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 5–25 mm;

blade lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, 1–6 cm.

petiole to 8 mm;

blade narrowly lanceolate to elliptic, 2–4 cm.
Inflorescences

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

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip acute to obtuse, often curved to one side.

open racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;

buds pendent.
Flowers

floral tube 1–3 mm;

sepals reflexed individually;

corolla rotate, petals pinkish lavender, often with darker flecks, narrowly to broadly obovate or rhombic, sometimes ± 3-lobed, 6–12(–14) × 3–7 mm;

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

ovary shallowly 4-grooved;

stigma not or rarely exserted beyond anthers.

floral tube 1.5–2 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side;

corolla rotate to bowl-shaped, petals pale pink shading nearly white near base, purple-flecked, fading pink, oblanceolate or obovate to diamond-shaped, 6–10 mm;

stamens 8, unequal, outer anthers dark pink, inner smaller, paler;

ovary shallowly 8-grooved.
Capsules

10–25 mm;

pedicel 1–4 mm.

15–30 mm;

subsessile.
Seeds

brown, gray, or mottled, 1–1.5 mm, scaly-echinate, crest 0.1 mm, inconspicuous.

brown, 1 mm, tuberculate, crest inconspicuous.
2n

= 24.

= 34.

Clarkia rhomboidea

Clarkia similis
Phenology Flowering May–Sep. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Yellow-pine forests, woodlands. Shady sites, oak woodlands, chaparral.
Elevation 0–3000 m. (0–9800 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia rhomboidea is a tetraploid derived from C. mildrediae and C. virgata or a closely related species. The six diploid species in sect. Myxocarpa closely related to C. rhomboidea (C. australis, C. borealis, C. mildrediae, C. mosquinii, C. stellata, and C. virgata) are California endemics with relatively small areas of distribution, whereas C. rhomboidea occurs throughout much of the western United States and is morphologically much more variable. Clarkia rhomboidea characteristically has relatively small, self-pollinating flowers with the stigma in contact with the anthers. Among the diploid species only C. stellata has similar small, self-pollinating flowers but is distinguished by yellow pollen and petals with a shallowly 3-lobed blade that is not flecked. Rare populations of C. rhomboidea have relatively large flowers with the stigma exserted beyond the anthers. When they occur within the geographical range of the outcrossing diploid species, they may be difficult to distinguish without determining chromosome number.

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

Clarkia similis is known from southwestern California and northern Baja California, Mexico, mainly in the South Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular ranges, from Monterey and San Benito counties in the north to San Diego County in the south. Reports from the Southern Sierra Nevada Foothills in Kern County and the Sacramento Valley in Tehama County are not confirmed.

Clarkia similis is a tetraploid species derived through polyploidization following hybridization between C. epilobioides and C. modesta.

(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. Phaeostoma > subsect. Prognatae
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. mosquinii, C. prostrata, C. pulchella, C. purpurea, 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. speciosa, C. springvillensis, C. stellata, C. tembloriensis, C. unguiculata, C. virgata, C. williamsonii, C. xantiana
Name authority Douglas in W. J. Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 214. (1832) H. Lewis & W. R. Ernst: Madroño 12: 89. (1953)
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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