Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia virgata

Clarkia rostrata

clarkia, Sierra clarkia

beak clarkia
Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect, to 60 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 15–50 mm;

blade elliptic to ovate, 2–5 cm.

petiole to 10 mm;

blade lanceolate, 1–6 cm.
Inflorescences

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

buds pendent, narrowly obovoid, tip obtuse.

open racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud;

buds pendent.
Flowers

floral tube 2–4 mm;

sepals reflexed individually;

corolla rotate, petals lavender-purple, mottled or spotted with reddish purple, ± rhombic, unlobed, 7–14 × 3–7 mm, length 1.9–3 times width;

stamens 8, subequal, subtended by ciliate scales, pollen blue-gray;

ovary shallowly 4-grooved;

stigma not or rarely exserted beyond anthers.

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.
Capsules

10–20 mm;

pedicel 1–4 mm.

10–30 mm, beak 7–15 mm.
Seeds

brown or gray, 1–1.5 mm, scaly-echinate, crest 0.1 mm.

unknown.
2n

= 10.

= 18.

Clarkia virgata

Clarkia rostrata
Phenology Flowering Jun–Jul. Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Yellow-pine forests, foothill woodlands. Oak-pine woodlands.
Elevation 400–1100 m. (1300–3600 ft.) 500 m. (1600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia virgata is known primarily from El Dorado to Tuolumne counties in the north-central Sierra Nevada range, with scattered collections to Mariposa and Yuba counties.

Clarkia virgata is very similar to C. mosquinii and C. australis and is probably derived from the former through chromosome reduction in number and rearrangement and may be ancestral to the latter, which differs in chromosome arrangement. Experimental hybrids in all combinations have very low fertility. The three species are difficult to distinguish morphologically but replace one another ecogeographically with C. australis in the south and C. virgata in the middle with non-overlapping distributions. Other than geographical distribution, C. virgata is usually distinguishable from C. mosquinii by having narrower petal blades and from C. australis by having broader leaves.

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

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.)
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Myxocarpa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Phaeostoma > subsect. Sympherica
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. rubicunda, C. similis, C. speciosa, C. springvillensis, C. stellata, C. tembloriensis, C. unguiculata, 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. rubicunda, C. similis, C. speciosa, C. springvillensis, C. stellata, C. tembloriensis, C. unguiculata, C. virgata, C. williamsonii, C. xantiana
Name authority Greene: Erythea 3: 123. (1895) W. S. Davis: Brittonia 22: 281. (1970)
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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