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farewell-to-spring, ruby chalice clarkia

Mosquin's clarkia

Stems

erect or decumbent, to 150 cm, puberulent;

buds erect.

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

Leaves

petiole to 10 mm;

blade lanceolate to elliptic, 1–4 cm.

petiole 10–30 mm;

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

Inflorescences

open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight;

buds erect.

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

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip obtuse.

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 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.

Capsules

20–40 mm;

pedicel 0–25(–40) mm.

15–25 mm;

pedicel 0–3 mm.

Seeds

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

brown or gray, 0.9–1.2 mm, scaly.

2n

= 14.

= 12.

Clarkia rubicunda

Clarkia mosquinii

Phenology Flowering May–Aug. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Openings in woodlands, forests, chaparral, coastal scrub. Yellow-pine forests.
Elevation 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.) 200–300 m. (700–1000 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 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.)

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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms Godetia rubicunda, C. rubicunda subsp. blasdalei, G. blasdalei C. mosquinii subsp. xerophylla
Name authority (Lindley) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953) E. Small: Canad. J. Bot. 49: 1216, fig. 4A,B. (1971)
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