Flora of North America species comparison

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Clarkia williamsonii

Clarkia rubicunda

Fort miller clarkia, Fort miller clarkia or fairyfan

farewell-to-spring, ruby chalice clarkia
Stems

erect, to 100 cm, puberulent.

erect or decumbent, to 150 cm, puberulent;

buds erect.
Leaves

petiole 0–10 mm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate, 2–7 cm.

petiole to 10 mm;

blade lanceolate to elliptic, 1–4 cm.
Inflorescences

open racemes, axis straight;

buds erect, mucronate.

open or dense spikes or racemes, 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 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.
Capsules

10–30 mm.

20–40 mm;

pedicel 0–25(–40) mm.
Seeds

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

brown to grayish brown, 1.2–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.2 mm.
2n

= 18.

= 14.

Clarkia williamsonii

Clarkia rubicunda
Phenology Flowering Apr–Sep. Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Foothill woodlands, yellow-pine forests. Openings in woodlands, forests, chaparral, coastal scrub.
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 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.)
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Godetia Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Clarkia > sect. Rhodanthos > subsect. Primigenia
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. 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
Synonyms Godetia williamsonii Godetia rubicunda, C. rubicunda subsp. blasdalei, G. blasdalei
Name authority (Durand & Hilgard) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis: Madroño 12: 34. (1953) (Lindley) 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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