Clarkia lewisii

Stems erect, to 50 cm, puberulent to glabrate. Leaves: petiole to 7 mm; blade narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, 2–5 cm. Inflorescences open racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud; buds pendent. Flowers: floral tube 1.5–4 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, base purplish red or with red line, sometimes reddish purple-flecked, 10–30 mm; stamens 8, unequal, width of all filaments subequal or inner slightly thinner, outer anthers lavender, inner smaller, paler. Capsules 15–70 mm, beak 0–3 mm. Seeds brown, 1 mm, scaly to puberulent, crest inconspicuous. 2n = 18.

Phenology: Flowering Jun.
Habitat: Coastal scrub, woodlands, chaparral.
Elevation: 0–300 m.

Calif.

Discussion

Clarkia lewisii is known primarily from Monterey County, sparsely in San Benito County, barely reaching Santa Clara County, and is listed as rare by the California Native Plant Society. It is most closely related and morphologically similar to C. cylindrica, from which it can be distinguished by having all filaments about equally wide and a ring of hairs at the rim of the floral tube; outer filaments of C. cylindrica are two times as wide as the inner ones, and the ring of hairs is within the tube below the rim. Clarkia lewisii is also closely related to C. rostrata, from which it differs conspicuously by having a much shorter capsule beak.

Clarkia lewisii is a new name applied to the species known until 1978 as C. bottae, following examination and reinterpretation of the type of Godetia bottae Spach by P. H. Raven and D. R. Parnell (1978). They determined that the type specimens of G. bottae actually referred to the species then known as C. deflexa (Jepson) H. Lewis & M. E. Lewis, and reapplied the name C. bottae to that species in sect. Fibula.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa