Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia rubicunda

Clarkia exilis

farewell-to-spring, ruby chalice clarkia

Kern River clarkia, Kern River or slender clarkia, slender clarkia
Stems

erect or decumbent, to 150 cm, puberulent;

buds erect.

erect, 30–100 cm, glabrous, glaucous.
Leaves

petiole to 10 mm;

blade lanceolate to elliptic, 1–4 cm.

petiole 0–5 mm;

blade bright green, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 1–6 cm, surfaces not glaucous, glabrous.
Inflorescences

open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight;

buds erect.

open racemes, axis erect;

buds pendent.
Flowers

floral tube 4–10 mm;

sepals reflexed together to one side;

corolla bowl-shaped, petals pink to lavender, base red or purplish red, fan-shaped, 10–30 mm, apex erose;

stamens 8, subequal;

ovary cylindrical, 4-grooved, puberulent;

stigma exserted beyond anthers.

floral tube 1–3 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side, usually green, sparsely to densely puberulent inside, without longer, spreading hairs;

corolla rotate, petals lavender-pink or white, often with dark purplish spot, usually diamond-shaped, 5–15 mm, claw slender, equal to or longer than blade, entire;

stamens 8, unequal, outer anthers red, inner smaller, paler;

ovary with hairs as on sepals;

stigma subequal to anthers.
Capsules

20–40 mm;

pedicel 0–25(–40) mm.

10–30 mm.
Seeds

brown to grayish brown, 1.2–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.2 mm.

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

= 14.

= 18.

Clarkia rubicunda

Clarkia exilis
Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Openings in woodlands, forests, chaparral, coastal scrub. Woodlands
Elevation 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) 0–1000 m. (0–3300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia rubicunda is known from the central coast of California, from Contra Costa and Marin counties south along the coast and foothills to northern San Luis Obispo County.

Clarkia rubicunda is probably a derivative of C. amoena and may be ancestral to C. franciscana. Clarkia rubicunda is distinguishable from some populations of C. amoena only by the absence of a red spot or group of spots near the middle of the petal and the presence of a red area at the base of the petal. Clarkia rubicunda can be distinguished from C. franciscana by the position of the stigma and size and shape of the petals. All three species differ in chromosome arrangement and hybrids are highly sterile.

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

Clarkia exilis is of limited distribution, known primarily from the southern Sierra Nevada Foothills and Tehachapi Mountain area in Kern and Tulare counties, with unverified reports from Fresno, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties. It is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society.

Clarkia exilis is derived from C. unguiculata and is closely related to C. springvillensis and C. tembloriensis.

(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. Rhodanthos > subsect. Primigenia Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Phaeostoma > subsect. Phaeostoma
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. rostrata, 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. 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. stellata, C. tembloriensis, C. unguiculata, C. virgata, C. williamsonii, C. xantiana
Synonyms Godetia rubicunda, C. rubicunda subsp. blasdalei, G. blasdalei
Name authority (Lindley) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953) H. Lewis & Vasek: Madroño 12: 211. (1954)
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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