Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia rubicunda

Clarkia xantiana

farewell-to-spring, ruby chalice clarkia

gunsight clarkia, Xantus' clarkia
Stems

erect or decumbent, to 150 cm, puberulent;

buds erect.

erect, to 80 cm, glabrous, glaucous.
Leaves

petiole to 10 mm;

blade lanceolate to elliptic, 1–4 cm.

petiole 0–2 mm;

blade linear to lanceolate, 2–6 cm.
Inflorescences

open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight;

buds erect.

open racemes, axis straight;

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 2–5 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side;

corolla rotate, petals lavender to reddish purple, lavender-pink, or white, often with white-surrounded dark reddish purple spot distally, clawed, 2-lobed, with slender central tooth, 1–3 mm, 6–20 mm;

stamens 8, in 2 unequal sets, outer anthers lavender to purple, inner smaller, paler;

ovary 8-grooved;

stigma exserted or not beyond anthers.
Capsules

20–40 mm;

pedicel 0–25(–40) mm.

15–25 mm;

pedicel 0–5 mm.
Seeds

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

brown, 1.3–1.5 mm, tuberculate, crest minute.
2n

= 14.

Clarkia rubicunda

Clarkia xantiana
Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Openings in woodlands, forests, chaparral, coastal scrub.
Elevation 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
California
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Originally placed in the group now delimited as subsect. Phaeostoma by H. Lewis and M. E. Lewis (1955), Clarkia xantiana was treated as a monotypic subsect. Xantianae within sect. Phaeostoma by K. E. Holsinger (1985), based mainly on its unusual 2-lobed petals with a tooth in the sinus. Molecular data (R. A. Levin et al. 2004) placed C. xantiana close to C. bottae, and both of them close to but not within sect. Phaeostoma. Both species share the chromosome number 2n = 18 with C. jolonensis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Petals 12–20 mm; stigmas exserted beyond anthers.
subsp. xantiana
1. Petals 6–12 mm; stigmas not exserted beyond anthers.
subsp. parviflora
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. Fibula
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. 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
Subordinate taxa
C. xantiana subsp. parviflora, C. xantiana subsp. xantiana
Synonyms Godetia rubicunda, C. rubicunda subsp. blasdalei, G. blasdalei
Name authority (Lindley) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953) A. Gray: Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 7: 146. (1859)
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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