Clarkia rostrata
Clarkia amoena
beak clarkia
arewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring, farewell-to-spring clarkia, godetia, yellow clarkia
erect, to 60 cm, puberulent.
erect to decumbent, 20–200 cm, puberulent.
petiole to 10 mm;
blade lanceolate, 1–6 cm.
petiole to 10 mm;
blade linear to lanceolate, 1–6 cm.
open racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;
buds pendent.
open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight;
buds erect.
floral tube 1.5–2.5 mm, with ring of hairs at distal margin inside;
sepals reflexed together to 1 side;
corolla bowl-shaped, petals pinkish lavender shading white near middle, often flecked reddish purple, base reddish purple, 10–25 mm;
stamens 8, unequal, width of all filaments equal or inner slightly thinner, outer anthers lavender, inner smaller, paler.
floral tube 3–10 mm;
sepals usually reflexed together to one side, or rarely in pairs or singly;
corolla bowl-shaped, petals pale pink to lavender, usually with red spot or mark near middle, obovate to fan-shaped, 15–60 mm, not lobed, apex sometimes shallowly notched or erose;
stamens 8, in 2 subequal sets;
ovary cylindrical and 4-grooved or fusiform and 8-grooved, puberulent;
stigma exserted or not beyond anthers.
10–30 mm, beak 7–15 mm.
15–40 mm, sometimes broader distally;
pedicel 0–13 mm.
unknown.
brown to grayish brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.
= 18.
Clarkia rostrata
Clarkia amoena
Clarkia rostrata is known only from the Merced River drainage in the central Sierra Nevada Foothills, including Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, and (barely) Tuolumne counties. Because of its very limited distribution, C. rostrata is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society.
Clarkia rostrata is closely related to C. cylindrica and C. lewisii but can be distinguished readily from both by the conspicuous beak of the capsule.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora).
Clarkia amoena is closely related to C. rubicunda, which differs morphologically mainly in the color pattern of the petals. Petals of C. amoena have a conspicuous red spot or group of small red spots or marks near the middle, whereas those of C. rubicunda have a red area at the base and are not spotted near the middle. The areas of distribution of the two species barely overlap in California just north of San Francisco Bay, and C. rubicunda could be considered a southern geographical race or subspecies of C. amoena were it not that their readily formed hybrids are sterile due to chromosomal rearrangement. Clarkia amoena is one of the parent species of the allotetraploid C. gracilis. Intermediates between subspecies are frequent.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Stigmas not exserted beyond anthers; petals less than 20 mm; coastal British Columbia, Oregon, Washington. | subsp. caurina |
1. Stigmas exserted beyond anthers; petals 15–60 mm. | → 2 |
2. Ovaries 8-grooved, broadly fusiform, 8–12 mm wide. | subsp. whitneyi |
2. Ovaries 4-grooved, cylindrical to subclavate, 2–6 mm wide. | → 3 |
3. Inflorescences open, internodes longer than subtending flowers, bracts sublinear. | subsp. huntiana |
3. Inflorescences congested, internodes shorter than subtending flowers, bracts narrowly lanceolate or wider. | → 4 |
4. Stems decumbent to suberect, to 100 cm; petals 20–35 mm, usually with red spot mid blade; coastal California. | subsp. amoena |
4. Stems erect, to 200 cm; petals 30–40 mm, usually without red spot or with very small spot or streak mid blade; inland Oregon, Washington. | subsp. lindleyi |
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
