Clarkia amoena
Bot. Gaz. 65: 62. 1918.
Stems erect to decumbent, 20–200 cm, puberulent. Leaves: petiole to 10 mm; blade linear to lanceolate, 1–6 cm. Inflorescences open or dense spikes or racemes, axis straight; buds erect. Flowers: floral tube 3–10 mm; sepals usually reflexed together to one side, or rarely in pairs or singly; corolla bowl-shaped, petals pale pink to lavender, usually with red spot or mark near middle, obovate to fan-shaped, 15–60 mm, not lobed, apex sometimes shallowly notched or erose; stamens 8, in 2 subequal sets; ovary cylindrical and 4-grooved or fusiform and 8-grooved, puberulent; stigma exserted or not beyond anthers. Capsules 15–40 mm, sometimes broader distally; pedicel 0–13 mm. Seeds brown to grayish brown, 1–1.5 mm, scaly, crest 0.1 mm.
Distribution
w North America.
Discussion
Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora).
Clarkia amoena is closely related to C. rubicunda, which differs morphologically mainly in the color pattern of the petals. Petals of C. amoena have a conspicuous red spot or group of small red spots or marks near the middle, whereas those of C. rubicunda have a red area at the base and are not spotted near the middle. The areas of distribution of the two species barely overlap in California just north of San Francisco Bay, and C. rubicunda could be considered a southern geographical race or subspecies of C. amoena were it not that their readily formed hybrids are sterile due to chromosomal rearrangement. Clarkia amoena is one of the parent species of the allotetraploid C. gracilis. Intermediates between subspecies are frequent.
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
Key
| 1 | Stigmas not exserted beyond anthers; petals less than 20 mm; coastal British Columbia, Oregon, Washington. | Clarkia amoena subsp. caurina |
| 1 | Stigmas exserted beyond anthers; petals 15–60 mm. | > 2 |
| 2 | Ovaries 8-grooved, broadly fusiform, 8–12 mm wide. | Clarkia amoena subsp. whitneyi |
| 2 | Ovaries 4-grooved, cylindrical to subclavate, 2–6 mm wide. | > 3 |
| 3 | Inflorescences open, internodes longer than subtending flowers, bracts sublinear. | Clarkia amoena subsp. huntiana |
| 3 | Inflorescences congested, internodes shorter than subtending flowers, bracts narrowly lanceolate or wider. | > 4 |
| 4 | Stems decumbent to suberect, to 100 cm; petals 20–35 mm, usually with red spot mid blade; coastal California. | Clarkia amoena subsp. amoena |
| 4 | Stems erect, to 200 cm; petals 30–40 mm, usually without red spot or with very small spot or streak mid blade; inland Oregon, Washington. | Clarkia amoena subsp. lindleyi |