Stems erect, to 90 cm, puber­ulent. Leaves: petiole to 10 mm; blade linear to narrow lance­olate, 2–5 cm. Inflorescences racemes, axis recurved at tip in bud; buds pendent. Flowers: floral-tube 3–5 mm; corolla bowl-shaped, petals pinkish lavender shading lighter proximally, with reddish purple base, broadly obovate, 8–16 mm; stamens 8, subequal; ovary 8-grooved, densely puberulent; stigma not exserted beyond anthers. Capsules 25–40 mm; pedicel 0–3 mm. Seeds light-brown or mottled with dark spots, 1.5 mm, minutely tuberculate, crest 0.2 mm. 2n = 14.

Phenology: Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat: Woodlands, conifer forests.
Elevation: 500–2000 m.

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Calif., Nev., Oreg.

Discussion

Clarkia lassenensis is found primarily in the northeastern counties of California, south-central counties of Oregon, and northwestern counties of Nevada, with a few outlier collections from Alpine and Placer counties in the Sierra Nevada, and from northern Mendocino and Glenn counties in the North Coast Ranges.

Clarkia lassenensis is morphologically most similar to C. arcuata and C. gracilis. At one time, C. lassenensis was considered a probable parent of the tetraploid C. gracilis but cytogenetic and molecular sequence data indicate that an unknown related species, presumably now extinct, was involved. Clarkia lassenensis can be distinguished readily from C. arcuata by flower size, position of the stigma, and pubescence of the immature capsule, and from C. gracilis by having immature capsules with eight grooves rather than four.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.