General:
Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems erect, 10-70 cm tall, usually simple or branched from the base, glabrous or hairy.
Leaves:
Linear to lanceolate, 1.5-5 cm long, entire; usually unstalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence an open spike, loosely-flowered, buds erect; hypanthium 2-10 mm long; corollas bowl-shaped, tending to close at night; petals lavender to purple and often with a darker spot above, fan-shaped to elliptic, 5-15 mm long; sepals staying fused in 2's or coming free, usually bent back; fertile stamens 8, all alike; stigmas elliptic-oblong, about 1.5 mm long, lavender to purple or dark wine-red; stigma not exceeding anthers.
Fruits:
Capsules, 1-3 cm long, round or 4-angled, ribbed, densely hairy, short-beaked.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Clarkia quadrivulnera (Dougl. ex Lindl.) A. Nels. & J.F. Macbr.
Godetia purpurea var. parviflora (S. Wats.) C.L. Hitchc.
Godetia quadrivulnera (Dougl. ex Lindl.) Spach
Godetia quadrivulnera var. vacensis Jepson
In B.C., Clarkia purpurea can be distinguished from C. amoena by its sepals reflexed in twos at antithesis, its eight-grooved fruit, and its subglobose stigma subglobose that is not exerted beyond the anthers. The range of Clarkia purpurea does not overlap with the other Clarkia species (C. rhomboidea and C. pulchella), which are found in southeastern B.C. (Douglas et al. 1999; Wheeler 2004).
Source: British Columbia Conservation Data Centre |
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 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 |