Clarkia gracilis
Encyclopedia
Clarkia gracilis is a species of wildflower known by the common name slender clarkia. This plant is native to the US states of California, Oregon, and Washington, where it is found in coastal, foothill, valley, and low-elevation mountain habitats. The plant is variable across subspecies but is generally an erect slender stem with a few sparse, narrow leaves several centimeters long. It bears an inflorescence
of drooping buds which open into bowl-shaped flowers with pinkish lavender petals 1 to 4 centimeters long and bearing a red or white splotch which can appear in the center or at the base of the petal, depending on the subspecies.
Subspecies:
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
of drooping buds which open into bowl-shaped flowers with pinkish lavender petals 1 to 4 centimeters long and bearing a red or white splotch which can appear in the center or at the base of the petal, depending on the subspecies.
Subspecies:
- C. g. ssp. albicaulis - (white-stemmed clarkia) - an uncommon subspecies known only from Butte County, CaliforniaButte County, CaliforniaButte County is a county located in the Central Valley of the US state of California, north of the state capital of Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 220,000. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County is the "Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty."Butte County is watered by the...
- C. g. ssp. gracilis - a more common subspecies
- C. g. ssp. sonomensis - (Sonoma clarkia) - found in northern California and southern Oregon
- C. g. ssp. tracyi - (Tracy's clarkia) - limited to the inland Northern Coast Ranges of California