Clarkia is a genus within the flowering plant family Onagraceae. Over 40 species are currently classified in Clarkia; almost all are native to western North America, though one species is native to South America.
Clarkia amoena is a flowering plant native to western North America, found in coastal hills and mountains from British Columbia south to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Clarkia bottae is a species of wildflower with several common names, including punchbowl godetia, Botta's clarkia, Botta's fairyfan, and hill clarkia.
Clarkia lassenensis is a species of wildflower known by the common name Lassen clarkia. This plant is native to the US states of California, Oregon, and Nevada, where it grows in the mountains and forested plateau. The plant erects a spindly stem and bears sparse narrow leaves. The bowl-shaped flower has four lavender petals with reddish bases, each about one centimeter long. Clarkia lassenensis is pollinated by both native bees and butterflies and is usually in bloom in the late spring early summer months of May and June. The flower is a resident of Mount Lassen, from which it gets its name.
Clarkia purpurea is a species of wildflower known by the common names winecup clarkia, winecup fairyfan, and purple clarkia.
Clarkia unguiculata is a species of wildflower known by the common name elegant clarkia or mountain garland. This plant is endemic to California, where it is found in many woodland habitats. Specifically it is common on the forest floor of many oak woodlands, along with typical understory wildflowers that include Calochortus luteus, Cynoglossum grande and Delphinium variegatum. C. unguiculata presents a spindly, hairless, waxy stem not exceeding a meter in height and bears occasional narrow leaves. The showy flowers have hairy, fused sepals forming a cup beneath the corolla, and four petals each one to 2.5 centimeters long. The paddle-like petals are a shade of pink to reddish to purple and are slender and diamond-shaped or triangular. There are eight long stamens, the outer four of which have large red anthers. The stigma protrudes from the flower and can be quite large. Flowers of the genus Clarkia are primarily pollinated by specialist bees found in their native habitat "Clarkias independently developed self-pollination in 12 lineages."
Clarkia davyi is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Davy's fairyfan, or Davy's clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it grows in coastal habitats such as beaches and bluffs. This is an annual herb producing a thin stem which grows along the ground or somewhat upright. It is lined with small oval-shaped leaves one or two centimeters long. While in bud the flower is enclosed in four fused thick sepals. It blooms into a petite bowl-shaped corolla of four pink petals which often have lighter bases. Each petal is 5 to 11 millimeters long.
Clarkia biloba is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name twolobe clarkia and two lobed clarkia.
Clarkia borealis is a rare species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name northern clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the forests of the southern Klamath Range and the southernmost Cascade Range foothills. It is an annual herb growing an erect, slender stem. The leaves are oval in shape and borne on short petioles. The top of the stem is occupied by the inflorescence, in which the lowest flowers open first and hanging, pointed flower buds occur at nodes at the top. The sepals separate as the flower blooms, revealing purplish pink petals. Each petal is between 1 and two centimeters long, elongated triangular to semicircular in shape, and sometimes flecked with dark purple. There are 8 stamens with anthers bearing blue-gray pollen, and a protruding stigma.
Clarkia exilis is a small herbaceous annual plant of western North America. It is an uncommon species in the evening primrose family known by the common names Kern River clarkia and slender clarkia.
Clarkia franciscana is a rare species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Presidio clarkia. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where it is known only from two populations at the Presidio of San Francisco and three occurrences in Oakland. The plant is known only from serpentine soils.
Clarkia jolonensis is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Jolon clarkia. It is endemic to Monterey County, California, where it is known from the woodlands of the Central Coast Ranges.
Clarkia lewisii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Lewis' clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the hills and mountains of Monterey and San Benito Counties. It is an erect annual herb generally under half a meter in height. The lance-shaped leaves are a few centimeters long. The inflorescence bears opening flowers and closed, hanging flower buds. As the bud opens the pink or purple sepals stay fused as the petals bloom from one side. The fan-shaped petals are up to 3 centimeters long, pink to lavender with white and red coloration near the bases. There are 8 stamens and a protruding stigma.
Clarkia mosquinii is a rare species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Mosquin's clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the northern Sierra Nevada foothills at the border between Butte and Plumas Counties. It was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1991. It is an erect annual herb often exceeding half a meter in height. The oval or lance-shaped leaves are 2 to 5 centimeters long. The inflorescence bears opening flowers below a series of clusters of closed, hanging flower buds. The sepals all separate as the flower blooms. The diamond-shaped petals are one to two centimeters long light to medium purple in color, and sometimes speckled with reddish purple.
Clarkia springvillensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Springville clarkia. It is endemic to central Tulare County, California, where it is known from fewer than 20 occurrences around Springville. It is a federally listed threatened species.
Clarkia virgata is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Sierra clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the forests and woodlands of the Sierra Nevada.
Clarkia xantiana is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name gunsight clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the southern Sierra Nevada and its foothills and the adjacent Transverse Ranges. This is an erect annual herb with linear to lance-shaped leaves each up to 6 centimeters long. The inflorescence produces opening flowers and closed buds. The sepals stay fused as the petals bloom from one side. Each petal is up to 2 centimeters long and generally light to medium purple in color, sometimes with a dark, ringed spot on the petals of the upper whorl. The petal has a narrow claw and a wider blade which has two lobes at the tip with a small tooth between.
Clarkia pulchella, also known as pinkfairies, ragged robin, and deerhorn clarkia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Onagraceae.
Leslie David Gottlieb (1936–2012) was a United States biologist described by the Botanical Society of America as "one of the most influential plant evolutionary biologists over the past several decades". He was employed at the University of California, Davis for 34 years, and published widely. In addition to his primary work in plant genetics, Gottlieb was an advocate for rare and endangered plant conservation.
Frank Harlan Lewis was an American botanist, geneticist, taxonomist, systematist, and evolutionist who worked primarily with plants in the genus Clarkia. He is best known for his theories of "catastrophic selection" and "saltational speciation", which are closely aligned with the concepts of quantum evolution and sympatric speciation. The concepts were first articulated in 1958 by Lewis and Peter H. Raven, and later refined in a 1962 paper by Lewis in which he coined the term "catastrophic selection". In 1966, he referred to the same mechanism as "saltational speciation".
