This still life depicts a wildflower named as an accessory for supernatural beings. Where my fairies at? These plants are aptly named speckled fairyfans.

Clarkia cylindrica | Speckled Fairyfan

Clarkia cylindrica is species of flowering plant, an annual herb, in the evening primrose family known by the common name speckled fairyfan, or speckled clarkia.

From the very first patch I saw of these abundant wildflowers, I was smitten.  We stopped at a handful of pullouts so I could photograph them with different lighting and different backgrounds.

These blooms were open at the very end of May.  Speckled fairyfans are predominant wildflowers endemic to California. We encountered them growing in chaparral (vegetation consisting chiefly of tangled shrubs and thorny bushes), woodlands, grasslands and in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Each open flower is a bowl of four fan-shaped petals up to about 3.5 centimeters long. Petals are intergrading shades of lavender, white, and magenta and often speckled with purple or pink. The erect stems grow under 20 inches high.

Note to readers: this photo marks the beginning of my dropping images from our recent road-trip that led to Yosemite National Park.  Beauty in nature.