Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia rostrata

Clarkia stellata

beak clarkia

Lake Almanor clarkia, lake amador clarkia
Stems

erect, to 60 cm, puberulent.

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole to 10 mm;

blade lanceolate, 1–6 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 1.5–2.5 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 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

10–30 mm, beak 7–15 mm.

20–25 mm;

pedicel 1–3 mm.
Seeds

unknown.

unknown.
2n

= 18.

= 14.

Clarkia rostrata

Clarkia stellata
Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Oak-pine woodlands. Open coniferous forests.
Elevation 500 m. (1600 ft.) 1000–1500 m. (3300–4900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

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. Sympherica 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. mosquinii, C. prostrata, C. pulchella, C. purpurea, C. rhomboidea, 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 W. S. Davis: Brittonia 22: 281. (1970) 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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