Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia williamsonii

Clarkia affinis

Fort miller clarkia, Fort miller clarkia or fairyfan

chaparral clarkia, chaparral clarkia or fairyfan, chaparral fairyfan
Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect, to 80 cm, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 0–10 mm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2–7 cm.

petiole 0–3 mm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1.5–7 cm.
Inflorescences

open racemes, axis straight;

buds erect, mucronate.

dense spikes, axis straight;

buds erect.
Flowers

floral tube 7–13 mm;

sepals reflexed individually or in pairs, tips distinct in bud;

corolla bowl-shaped, petals usually lavender, white near middle with purple spot distally, rarely uniformly wine-red, 10–30 mm;

stamens 8, subequal;

ovary 8-grooved, shorter than adjacent internode;

stigma usually exserted beyond anthers.

floral tube1.5–4 mm;

sepals reflexed together to 1 side;

corolla bowl-shaped, petals 5–15 mm;

stamens 8, subequal;

ovary cylindrical, 8-grooved, length at least 10 times width;

stigma not exserted beyond anthers.
Capsules

10–30 mm.

15–30 mm, beak 3–7 mm;

pedicel 0–5 mm.
Seeds

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

brown or gray, 1–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.
2n

= 18.

= 52.

Clarkia williamsonii

Clarkia affinis
Phenology Flowering Apr–Sep. Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat Foothill woodlands, yellow-pine forests. Openings in woodlands and chaparral.
Elevation 400–2000 m. (1300–6600 ft.) 0–500 m. (0–1600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Clarkia williamsonii occurs widely along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada from Nevada to Kern counties, and the Tehachapi Mountains barely to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties (one collection each). There are unverified reports from Riverside and Shasta counties.

Clarkia williamsonii is similar to C. speciosa and some populations of the hexaploid C. purpurea but can be distinguished from the former by petal color pattern and from both by having sepals that have distinctly free tips in bud, a trait most obvious in pressed specimens when the tips tend to spread apart.

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

Clarkia affinis is known primarily from west-central California and the North Coast Ranges, and more scattered in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and Western Transverse Ranges.

Clarkia affinis is a hexaploid most closely related to C. purpurea; both have 2n = 52. Chromosome pairing in hybrids between them, as well as morphology, suggest that they have a tetraploid (2n = 34) genome in common. The two species are most readily distinguished by their immature capsules, which in C. affinis are slender, at least ten times longer than wide, beaked, and shallowly grooved, whereas those of C. purpurea are stout, not more than eight times longer than wide, not prominently beaked, and deeply grooved; the sepals of the former are generally reflexed together in fours whereas those of the latter are reflexed individually or in twos. Based on morphology and molecular data, the diploid genome probably came from C. cylindrica or a related species.

(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. Godetia Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Biortis
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. virgata, C. xantiana
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, C. xantiana
Synonyms Godetia williamsonii
Name authority (Durand & Hilgard) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953)
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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