E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Clarkia rhomboidea Douglas ex Hook.
common clarkia (diamond clarkia)
Onagraceae (Evening Primrose family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Clarkia rhomboidea
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems 15-100 cm tall, usually simple, short stiff-hairy.

Leaves:
Few, mostly somewhat opposite, elliptic to lanceolate, 2-7 cm long, 5-20 mm wide, entire to finely toothed; stalks slender, 1-3 cm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a few-flowered, short raceme, buds nodding; hypanthium 1-3 mm long, scaly and white-hairy at the base of the stamens; corollas wheel-shaped, slightly irregular; petals rose-purple and often purple-dotted, 5-10 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, claw 2-lobed, the blade lance- to widely egg-shaped or diamond-shaped; sepals usually free; fertile stamens 8, all alike; stigmas oval, about 0.5 mm long, white to purple; styles not exceeding stamens.

Fruits:
Capsules, 1.5-3.3 cm long, short-beaked.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Key to the Species and Taxonomic Notes

1. Petals not narrowing to a claw at the base; flowers regular, closing at night.

2. Sepals usually joined and turned to one side; ovaries and immature fruits 4-grooved; stigmas 1-6 mm long........................C. amoena
2. Sepals staying fused in 2's or coming free, not turned to one side; ovaries and immature fruits 8-grooved, stigmas about 1.5 mm long...................C. purpurea

1. Petals with a distinct, narrow claw at the base; flowers slightly irregular, not closing at night.

3. Petals 3-lobed; fertile stamens 4; leaves often alternate........................C. pulchella
3. Petals not 3-lobed; fertile stamens 8; leaves opposite........................C. rhomboidea

Habitat / Range

Dry, open areas in the lower montane zone; rare in SE BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, known only from Trail and Pend d'Oreille River; S to ID, UT, AZ and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S2S3	Blue	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-16 10:46:17 PM ]

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